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Nursing Ethics

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Nursing Ethics

Ethics of Care VS Ethics of Justice

Health care professionals have to make ethical decisions every day, and some have different

perspectives than others. Ethics of care can be characterized as a need-centered or a relational-

emotional context in nature. Whereas, ethics of justice means to be fair and have a rational

objective while making decisions. There has been a lot of argument concerning the importance

of these two types of ethics. According to Juujarvi, Ronkainen, and Silvennoinen (2019), nurses

use empathic or care while building relationships with patients and their family members.

However, when such nurses have to assess the patient’s needs after discharge, they have to

thoroughly analyze the ethics of justice [ CITATION Juu19 \l 1033 ]. It seems that both of these

ethics are integrated when a nurse has to make decisions on a daily basis. A fair delivery of care

is as essential as having an excellent patient-nurse relationship.

It is argued that the ethics of care and ethics of justice are two perspectives which represent

opposite poles. Hence, there can be specific ethical dilemmas that remain unresolved if nurses or

other members of the health team use only one of these perspectives while making moral

decisions. Patients have to be given fair, need-centered, and holistic treatment. Both of these

aspects complement one another.

Ethics of care is centered on the moral actions of the relationship between patients and nurses. It

provides the importance of concern, responsibility, and relationship over other consequences. It

is a central part of professional, ethical issues and is inherent to nurses that care for their patients.

Ethics of care helps the nurse focus on the patient at the center of attention. Nurses are able to
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advocate for the betterment of their patients while having appropriate boundaries [ CITATION

Emi18 \l 1033 ].

When it comes to justice, a nurse becomes fairer while distributing care to their patients and their

family members [ CITATION Bur13 \l 1033 ]. For example, there is more than one patient that a

nurse has to take care of; hence, they have to distribute their time in a fairway. Another example

can be of moral choices that a nurse has to select from and measure the right of people that are

involved in those choices. The solution has to be favorable for everyone or damage the fewest

people possible. This helps the nurse to respect people’s rights and respect the morally

acceptable laws. 

Do Ethics of Care and Justice Oppose or Complement Each Other?

Various arguments have justified reasons for the ethics of care and justice to complement each

other. Ethics of justice has a rule-oriented strategy, and such rules are an inherent part of society[

CITATION Juu19 \l 1033 ]. Hence, the domination of modern society and regulations cannot be

washed away. However, rules cannot guarantee moral behavior, and it cannot make sure that the

decisions made based on rules are ethically correct.

An example of ethics of justice and care complementing one another can include a nurse and the

family of a patient. There are times when family members ask the nurse not to tell the patient

about their medical diagnosis or conditions. A nurse can understand that the patient might not be

able to handle such trauma. However, the nurse has to consider the patient’s rights to know.

When it comes to justified result, the nurse has the right to tell their patient’s truth. Nevertheless,

the nurse can try their best to provide the information in a way that might ease the patient’s
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distress. Giving them hope while making sure they know the consequences of having an

operation, for example, complement the two types of ethics.

Ethics of justice has to deal with moral choices and provide the help that damages the fewest

people. In regards to care, a nurse has to distribute their care among all of their patients. An

example of these ethical principles to oppose one another can be of a nurse that starts focusing

on a patient who is diagnosed with fourth stage cancer. In such a case, the nurse is trying to make

sure that the patient’s health does not decrease. However, by focusing on one patient, the nurse is

neglecting other people, and it opposes the ethics of care.

End of Life Issues

Someone’s death is a natural phenomenon, and it is an inevitable consequence of life. However,

a nurse has to focus on this issue as a moral principle and the way they make decisions. There are

a lot of the ethical problems that may occur during someone’s end of life care [ CITATION

Bur13 \l 1033 ]. As a nurse, sometimes the values and morals are in conflict with the patient’s,

and it causes a lot of distress for both parties. 

Hence, it is better for a person to have an understanding of some of the problems that may occur

in such end of life decisions. Sometimes healthcare system also has specific criteria that conflict

the decisions of the patient’s family. An example can be of a thirteen-year-old child whose

parents wanted to continue the life support. However, since the child was medically brain dead,

the health care facilities could not allow them to extend life support [ CITATION Sch18 \l

1033 ].  
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Another painful medical condition occurs when a patient has selected “do not resuscitate”

(DNR). As a nurse, it is quite challenging not to give a person CPR since it is their own choice to

end their lives. Nevertheless, it is a nurse’s professional and moral obligation to follow the

guidelines that are provided in the ethical standards [ CITATION Had20 \l 1033 ]. Hence, the

values of a nurse and their patient might not be the same, but a nurse has to meet the ethical

principles while ensuring their patient’s goals. 

Own Perspective

Nursing ethics is vital since it can help them in a lot of ethical dilemmas. Nevertheless, just like

any other profession, there can be ethical issues in nursing practice. Some of the reasons can be

of conflicts in hospital admission procedures of patients, informed or voluntary consent, care

imbalance, and false accusations by the patient, etc. Moreover, poor teamwork can also make the

work more challenging. 

Nonetheless, as a nurse, it is their responsibility to be fair, distribute care, and do what is best for

the patient even if it contradicts to their own values. Every patient has a choice, and it must be

upheld. It is vital for a nurse to encourage their patients to make their own decisions without

coercion or judgment. There will always be ethical issues regarding a patient’s end of life

dilemma or lack of resources for a patient. In any case, a nurse must collect the necessary

information and select the best possible solution that is best for the patient. 
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References

Burkhardt, M. A., Walton, N., & Nathaniel, A. (2018). Ethics and issues in contemporary

nursing, 3rd edition. Virginia, US: Cengage Learning.

Emich. (2018, January 5). Importance of ethics in nursing. Retrieved from

https://online.emich.edu/articles/rnbsn/importance-of-ethics-in-nursing.aspx

Haddad, L. M., & Geiger, R. A. (2020). Nursing ethical considerations. Denver, Colorado: Stat

Pearls.

Juujarvi, S., Ronkainen, K., & Silvennoinen, P. (2019). The ethics of care and justice in primary

nursing of older patients. SAGE Journals, 14(4), 13-21.

Schmidt, S. (2018, June 29). Jahi McMath, the Calif. girl in life-support controversy, is now

dead. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-

mix/wp/2018/06/29/jahi-mcmath-the-calif-girl-declared-brain-dead-4-years-ago-is-taken-

off-life-support/