Ethics Paper

Directions

Select an ethical issue or dilemma

There are many ethical issues related to healthcare environments. Some of the ethical issues that occur in healthcare today are issues related to informed consent, organ donation, end-of- life care, truth-telling, palliative care, narcotic abuse, cultural care, spiritual care, privacy, and pain management. There are more! Select an ethical issue that has occurred in your current work setting or one where you previously have worked.  

Literature search

Visit the APUS library. Conduct a literature search and find articles that pertain to the ethical issue/dilemma that you selected. Make sure your articles are scholarly and current. Sources must be within 3-5 years, of the current year, three years or less is preferred. Look for peer-reviewed articles/sources.  You may also find additional references on the ANA website, or other professional websites. Six scholarly references are required.

Paper structure

• Six-seven pages in length, not including the title page and reference sheet.
• APA format
  • Make the title page and reference sheet per APA format
  • The running head and page numbers correctly formatted
  • Double-spaced with 1-inch borders. Times New Roman Font 12 typeface is required.
  • The paper needs to meet the standards of professional writing in nursing, including accurate grammar, spelling, punctuation, and syntax. It must be in APA format.
• There should be a minimum of six references. Three references must include the following:
  • The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses, 2015,
  • The Kearney-Nunnery Advancing Your Career Textbook, and
  • The Park, Integrated Ethical Decision-making Model, 2012 article attached to this assignment.
• Use headers in your paper per APA format ( See template for paper organization and headers)

Inclusions (see rubric for more details)

• Introduction
  • An overview of ethical issue/dilemma that occur in the profession and what will be discussed in your paper
• Describe one ethical issue/dilemma that happened in your workplace. Describe the ethical principles, e.g., beneficence, nonmaleficence, veracity, autonomy, justice,  privacy, confidentiality, and fidelity that were not upheld. Identify and explain the Provisions of the Code of Ethics for Nurses that were breached, providing rationale for it being an ethical issue.
• Use the ethical decision-making model in the attached article to analyze the issue. Work through each step of the ethical decision-making model in detail to analyze the issue.
• Analyze how the ethical issue affected the patients/families and healthcare workers. Include a description of the varying viewpoints based on values, beliefs, and culture about the issue, and how you view the issue. Relate your personal ethical lens to your view.
• Describe how you think the issue should have been, or should be handled? Provide rationale.  Make recommendations of how this issue can best be addressed in the future.
• Conclusion

Ethical Decision-making Model

The article entitled, "An Integrated Ethical Decision-making Model for Nurses" is attached below.  Use the six steps of the model to analyze and guide your decision-making about the ethical issue that occurred in your workplace. Be sure to write about each step in your paper.

Use the Ethics Paper Template below to set up your paper.

See attachments below