1) I expected to learn about ethics and values
this unit. I wasn’t quite sure how it applied to nursing leadership though.
2) After learning about ethics, I feel I have a
better view of what ethical dilemmas are, the nursing leader’s role, and how to
generate issues to an Ethics Committee. First, an Ethics Committee is a group
of professionals with diverse backgrounds that specialize in ethics training.
The committee usually consists of about 7-8 members and can include physicians,
nurses, lawyers, quality improvement directors, and stay-at-home moms. This
diverse group can offer insight to both sides of an issue and back it up with
research. Even when their advice is given, it is still up to the physician and
hospital to choose what they want to decide regarding the issue.
I also learned research is an effective source for
determining the direction to proceed with an issue. Both issues may seem right.
Or both issues may seem wrong. My opinion can easily be wrong, and I need to
realize that. This is why it is helpful to have outside recommendations from an
ethics committee. They are trained professionals with expertise in ethical
dilemmas.
3) I enjoyed the team activities. Our group came
to the consensus that more information should be provided, regarding the
patient in the coma needing dialysis. This taught me the importance of looking at
all the facts and background situation. This aides in making a better decision
for the patient.
4) I will apply this unit to my nursing practice
by remembering that both sides of an argument can be right (i.e case of good
intent versus good intent), or wrong. It is important to listen to everything,
research the issue, and address the background, while seeking out other’s
advice when I am unsure of what to do.
5) I was very surprised to learn in the PowerPoint
lecture that spouses of patients have been faced with allowing their pregnant
wife to live in her vegetative state, just so the fetus can come to term, or to
the point of viability. I never really considered this before. One would think
the answer would be to definitely let the fetus survive. Although, after
reading about actual real-life examples of this, it became apparent to me that
costs should be considered, the predicted survival of the infant, and the fact
that keeping the pregnant woman alive, in her vegetative state, might be
against her wishes, regardless of being pregnant or not.
From this unit on
ethics, I feel enlightened. If dilemmas present themselves, I now am aware of
Ethics Committees and can choose to access them. I feel using their expertise can
be so beneficial to all parties involved—the patient, staff, and family.
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