{"id":3224,"date":"2016-07-05T15:30:14","date_gmt":"2016-07-05T19:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/?p=3224"},"modified":"2018-04-25T15:29:54","modified_gmt":"2018-04-25T19:29:54","slug":"ethical-nursing-treating-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/ethical-nursing-treating-family","title":{"rendered":"Ethical Nursing: Treating Family"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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In medical facilities across the country, nurses face ethical dilemmas that challenge their training and personal morality everyday. As with many cases of ethics, there is rarely a perfect solution to a problem. Decisions may be reached on the basis that a procedure will be beneficial or causes no harm, yet matters are hardly black and white.<\/p>\n

There are many issues of ethics that nurses may encounter, though one that is continually pressing is the question of whether nurses should treat family members, or even themselves for that matter.<\/p>\n

When the nurse becomes the patient, the line between one\u2019s role as a professional and as a recipient of care blurs inevitably. Similarly, when the patient is a friend, loved one, or family member, an objective interpretation of the situation can be even more convoluted.<\/p>\n

\"ethical\"

It can be particularly difficult for some to separate their roles as nurses and parents.<\/p><\/div>\nFind Pediatrics Travel Nursing Jobs Here!<\/a>\n

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Identifying Ethical Dilemmas<\/h2>\n

The dilemma all starts with consideration of the patient and provider roles, and the responsibility that comes along with this relationship. As a nurse, you are obligated to operate within the scope of practice given your education and license. When difficult decisions arise that require keen medical knowledge, how easily can you separate your personal and professional view of the situation? How easy should this be in the first place?<\/p>\n

Because it\u2019s almost impossible not to be a parent, child, or spouse before being a nurse, understanding the nuances of the Nursing Code of Ethics<\/a> is a logical first step to securing your moral framework as a professional.<\/p>\n

By understanding some of the main moral difficulties that arise when considering the treatment of friends or family, it can be easier to discern when and when not to practice.<\/p>\n

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Provision 1.2 Relationships with Patients<\/h3>\n

Establishing a trusting and understanding relationship with each patient is a key factor in providing the right care for the situation. Whether it\u2019s regarding culture, value systems, religion, or someone\u2019s lifestyle, nurses are to remain impartial in order to avoid conflict.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to see how pairing this moral standard with knowledge of a family member or friend\u2019s background could present difficulties should you find yourself as their nurse.<\/p>\n

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Provision 2.2 Conflict of Interest for Nurses<\/h3>\n

Nurses are constantly striving to promote a patient\u2019s best interests while preserving the professional integrity<\/a> of themselves and other interprofessional decision-makers.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not uncommon for conflicts to arise from competing loyalties in the workplace \u2013 coupled with the expectations of patients, their families, physicians, colleagues, and their overarching healthcare organizations, nurses can find themselves in some pretty complex dilemmas.<\/p>\n

Finding an objective way to interpret your role within this network of potential conflicts can serve to elucidate the lines between one\u2019s professional and personal functions.<\/p>\n

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It’s not always clear when a decision is unethical, so consider your practice carefully.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n

Provision 3.1 Privacy and Confidentiality<\/h3>\n

Generally speaking, the effort to provide proper health care does not warrant unwanted or unnecessary intrusion into a person\u2019s life. For family members or friends, this confidentiality may already be breached. This provision makes it clear that nurses are in questionable moral territory when dealing with familiar\/familial patients.<\/p>\n

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Provision 4.1 Authority, Accountability, and Responsibility<\/h3>\n

In dealing with the moral issue of treating friends or family members, an evergreen consideration is that nurses bear the primary responsibility for the care their patients and clients receive. As a professional, you are accountable for your own practice, meaning that any ethical missteps or violations are entirely ascribed to one\u2019s own personhood.<\/p>\n

Ethical Dilemmas Beyond the Facility<\/h2>\n

Although it may be less likely to find yourself caring for a friend or family member<\/a> at your actual place of employment, that doesn\u2019t mean these ethical dilemmas stop at a healthcare facility\u2019s door.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t to say that you shouldn\u2019t treat your child\u2019s scraped knees, bumps or bruises, but more or less it\u2019s deciding when to hand the duties over to another impartial professional \u2013 something difficult for parents of any profession to do.<\/p>\n

When it comes to treating adult family members or spouses who need medical assistance after being discharged from a hospital setting, the situation can be difficult to navigate. As always, it\u2019s recommended that you provide care within your education and licensing. Things like changing dressings and helping loved ones follow orders given are generally permissible. However, when it comes to medications there can be some ethical complications if you are not fully authorized to be handling these matters.<\/p>\n

Regardless of your expertise, it still may be best to delegate the responsibility of caring for a friend or family member to an outside professional. Even if it\u2019s one of the hardest decisions to make, avoiding further legal, ethical and moral violations can at least render the entire situation as being handled properly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In medical facilities across the country, nurses face ethical dilemmas that challenge their training and personal morality everyday. As with many cases of ethics, there is rarely a perfect solution to a problem. Decisions may be reached on the basis that a procedure will be beneficial or causes no harm, yet matters are hardly black […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,74],"tags":[274,505,352],"class_list":["post-3224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nursing-issues","category-travel-nurse-tips","tag-ethics","tag-legal","tag-nursing-issues"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3224"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5407,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3224\/revisions\/5407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelnursesource.com\/notes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}