Ethical Issues Relevant to DNP-Prepared Nurse

Read your colleagues’ responses and respond to your colleague by expanding upon on your colleague’s post or suggesting an alternative approach to the ethical issue described by your colleague.

Ethical Issues Relevant to DNP-Prepared Nurse
Ethical issues often arise in healthcare. As DNP nurse leaders, we will always confront ethical problems with patients, their families, and the organization we represent. We are expected to address ethical issues by applying our advanced knowledge. According to Olsen (2019), though advanced practice nurses work in various settings, their approach to patient care continues to be informed by traditional nursing ethics and care models. Ethical principles emphasize a nurse’s responsibility to respect the dignity and protect the patient’s health is primary. We DNP-prepared nurses can practice as nurse leaders, providers, and faculty members and will encounter ethical issues as we deal with those we meet.
One ethical issue that DNP-prepared nurses will have to deal with is the issue of patient autonomy, especially DNP nurses working in a behavioral health setting. Nurses must always uphold human rights protection and the profession’s values and ethics (Sharbini, Udan & Zolkefli, 2022). Often, psychiatric patients face coercive treatment because of poor insight and impaired judgment. Patient autonomy means they have the right to decide, including refusing treatment. Forcing a patient to receive medication can be distressing for the DNP because the DNP essentials, 11, emphasize the role of effective strategies for managing the ethical dilemmas inherent in patient care, the health care organization, and research (ACCN, 2006). As a psychiatric NP, the issues of patient autonomy and their right to refuse are similar to the issues I have encountered in my practice. I will have to choose between the right of an aggressive patient who refuses medication and giving that individual an IM medication to protect their safety and others. According to Hui, Cooper, and Zaheer (2020), many clinical decisions in psychiatry involve weighing patient autonomy against the real risks of harm to patients themselves and others.
Another ethical issue is patient confidentiality. Patient confidentiality is an ethical and legal issue that the DNP will continue to encounter. As a mental health provider, your patients want to ensure that their privacy and confidentiality are secured. Most often, mental health patients are brought in by their loved ones voluntarily or involuntarily, and their information is kept private unless they sign the release. Most of these families will constantly call to check on their loved ones and also want you to update them on their progress, but ethical principles prevent you from going against the patient wishes. About 25% of U.S. adolescents would discontinue treatment if they believed their information would be shared with their parents without consent, and the likelihood of them seeking and returning to mental health services would increase if their confidentiality was assured (Yao, Li, Wang & Hui, 2021).
Conclusion
As DNP leaders, we must understand the law and principles guiding ethical issues in nursing and healthcare because violating the patient’s ethical rights can have both professional and legal consequences. Respecting the patient’s autonomy and confidentiality creates a trusting relationship where the patient knows that the information they share is secured.
References
American Association of College of Nursing. (2006). The essentials of doctoral education for advanced nursing practice. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/Publications/DNP.pdf
Hui, K., Cooper, R. B., & Zaheer, J. (2020). Engaging Patients and Families in the Ethics of Involuntary Psychiatric Care. American Journal of Bioethics, 20(6), 82–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2020.1754511
Olsen, D. P. (2019). Ethical Considerations When Dismissing Patients for Noncompliance. AJN American Journal of Nursing, 119(2), 64–66. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000553208.51836.4a
Sharbini, S. H., Udan, J., & Zolkefli, Y. (2022). Competent Patients’ Refusal of Nursing Care: A Focus Group Interview. International Journal of Nursing Education, 14(2), 209–216. https://doi.org/10.37506/ijone.v14i2.18023
Yao, E., Li, Y., Wang, C., & Hui, J. (2021). Understanding confidentiality breach in adolescent mental health sessions: an integrated model of culture and parenting. Ethics & Behavior, 31(4), 245–256. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2020.1719105

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