Ethical Decision Making

In nursing, ethical obligations are derived from the nature of the work, relationship with patients, and moral nurses’ obligations to provide care to vulnerable populations. The nurse – patient relationships primarily arise from nurses’ responsibilities to help patients and their families through difficult times. Providing care, health care professionals confront ethical decisions every day. Such decisions are usually challenging and may range from situations of abiding by professional standards to complicated scenarios with two or more competing obligations. A sequence of questions to identify and analyze ethical dilemmas may become helpful in tackling ethical problems. In essence, the sequence of logical steps allows health care professionals to evaluate the possible solutions to ethical dilemmas or moral tempations. Having scrutinized the ethical principles, values and standards encompassing health care work, researches and professionals have developed a wide range of ethical decision making models in order to identify and analyze ethical dilemmas, and then develop and implement ethical solutions. The ethical principles underlying most ethical decision making models include the following: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and the principle of justice. In addition, the health care professionals are to consider the situation from individual, patients’ and social perspectives. To resolve the ethical dilemma in the case study, the Realm – Individual – Process – Situation Model (RIPS) is to be applied. Realm – Individual – Process – Situation ModelThe model was presented in the work of Jack Glaser, who distinguished the realms of managed care ethics comprising of the individual, organizational or institutional, and societal ethics. The individual ream generally includes concerns related to nurse – patient relationships, and rights, duties, and behaviors between individuals. The organizational realm is associated with structures and systems facilitating organizational goals. The societal realm is concerned with the common good. Moreover, the model includes the tools to analyze the individual process, which is associated with moral behavior and ethical situation. Considering that there are no universal rules and definitions of moral behavior, it is complex category, which usually includes four major components, such as moral sensitivity, judgment, motivation and courage. As to the types of ethical situations, there are a wide range of ethical dilemmas the health care professionals confront every day. Putfulio and Kidder distinguish two major types of ethical problems such as ethical dilemmas (“the two rights”) and moral temptations (“right versus wrong”). To resolve the issue and develop effective solution, one has to consider all realms, as well as individual process.Implementing RIPS model for Ethical Decision – MakingThe ethical decision making consists of the four steps including: Recognize and define the ethical issues: The first step includes the overall review of the situation including examination of the facts of the case, as well as evaluation of Realms, Individual Process, and type of ethical situation. Reflect: it is interpretation of the information collected during Step 1. The interpretation is to guide further decision – making. Decide the right thing to do: it is the process of resolving ethical dilemmas.Implement, evaluate, reassess. The Case StudyStep …