Course
NR513 Professional Role Enhancement
Ethical Challenges in Nursing Practice – Assignment Overview
Purpose:
In the profession of nursing, ethical challenges are encountered daily. These challenges can impact the quality of patient care and create moral concerns for nurses delivering care. For this assignment, locate a current research-based article that addresses a current ethical challenge in practice or research. A current ethical dilemma within a healthcare organization may also be discussed.
Note:
If choosing an ethical dilemma within an organization, the presentation must still be supported with current literature.
How to Approach This Assignment
- Understand what an ethical challenge means in nursing
- Think about situations where decisions involve moral judgment or conflict between what should be done and what can be done.
- Common ethical challenges include patient confidentiality, end-of-life decisions, informed consent, resource allocation, or patient autonomy.
- Focus on selecting a topic that is current and relevant to modern healthcare practice.
- Locate a current research-based article
- Search academic databases or library sources for peer-reviewed articles related to nursing ethics.
- Ensure the article addresses a real ethical challenge in clinical practice or research.
- Choose an article that clearly explains the issue, its impact on patient care, and possible solutions.
- Consider an ethical dilemma from practice (if applicable)
- Reflect on experiences where an ethical issue affected patient care or nursing decisions.
- Avoid sharing identifying details about patients or organizations.
- Use the selected research article to support and explain the ethical dilemma.
- Analyze the ethical challenge
- Identify the main ethical issue discussed in the article or situation.
- Explain why the issue creates difficulty for nurses or healthcare teams.
- Consider how the ethical challenge impacts patient safety, quality of care, or professional responsibilities.
- Connect the issue to nursing practice and literature
- Use the research article to support discussion points and provide evidence-based explanations.
- Explain how the ethical challenge can be addressed using professional standards, ethical principles, or policies.
- Focus on practical solutions that support safe, ethical patient care.
- Organize the presentation clearly
- Introduce the ethical issue and explain its importance.
- Summarize the key points from the selected research article.
- Discuss how the issue applies to nursing practice and possible ways to manage it.
- Ensure ideas flow logically and remain focused on ethical decision-making in nursing.
Sample Solution
Nurses frequently face ethical challenges that impact patient care and create moral distress. One common challenge is end-of-life decision making, particularly when patients or families refuse recommended treatments or request interventions that may be futile. This situation raises questions about autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice.…..Click below to access the full sample solution (PDF)