Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing Practice: Balancing Patient Autonomy with Religious Beliefs and Duty of Care
Overview
This reflection paper examines a personal ethical dilemma experienced by a registered nurse caring for a patient from a faith-based community that refused medical treatment in favor of prayer. The author explores the tension between respecting patient and family autonomy/religious beliefs and fulfilling the professional duty to preserve life, ultimately addressing the subjective nature of ethical dilemmas across different cultural and religious backgrounds.
What this reflection paper covers
- Definition and introduction to ethical dilemmas in healthcare
- Personal case study describing the conflict between administering necessary medicine and respecting family religious beliefs
- Analysis of the moral conflict and resolution through unauthorized administration of medicine
- Discussion of how ethical dilemmas are contextual and subjective depending on the practitioner's background
Preview
Week 2 Discussion Question
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Week 2 Discussion Question
An ethical dilemma refers to a problem in the decision-making process between two moral issues with equal weight. It involves making a decision on two choices, neither of which is entirely acceptable by the involved stakeholders from an ethical perspective (Rainer et al., 2018). Healthcare providers often face several ethical dilemmas while taking care of their patients. I have faced an ethical dilemma in my practice as a nurse. This dilemma might not be one for another nurse practitioner.
A registered nurse has taken a vow to protect lives through the hospital and home-based patient care. However, some religions do not believe in their loved ones (Haahr et al., 2020). Instead, they believe in praying for them until they are healed. I received a patient from such a religion at some point in my practice. He was sick, and I needed to administer medicine to him, but his family refused it. Initially, the patient stayed at his home with church members praying for him until a concerned person convinced them to bring the patient to the hospital. The problem is they agreed to bring him but did not allow us to administer medicine to him.
As a registered nurse, I vowed to save lives but also to respect people's wishes.