In: Nursing
A nurse says that her conscience clearly dictates that she should not assist at a particular operation. One of the doctors present says that he went to a Catholic medical school and he would assure her that the operation is not immoral. Should the nurse follow her conscience or the advice of the doctor?
answer:
The nurse should follow her conscience and not the advice of the doctor if her conscience clearly dictates that she should not assist at a particular operation in accordance with the ethical principles of the nursing professionals to follow the obligations relative to the conscience and its judgement in the decision-making process.
Rationale:
Once an individual is decided whether an action should be performed or not as per his/her conscience; he or she is duty bound to follow his or her conscience as per the ethical principles guiding the obligations relative to the conscience.
Explanation
Introduction
Conscience is a part of the human intellect which guides an individual regarding the actions done by him or her being good or bad and is an important part of our moral makeup.
Conscience refers to the small whisper or the inner voice within every individual which guides the individuals in situations/decision making processes as to which action is right or wrong and acts as a guiding principle for one’s actions.
Application of conscience in decision making is the use of intellect in guiding moral matters.The application of conscience in decision making by the nursing professionals implies the application of knowledge,freedom,intellectual skills,critical thinking skills and reflection on one's actions to make decisions and hence helps the nurses to provide high quality patient care and safe care.So, the decision making using the application of conscience is approved and regarded as correct in patient care.
The ethical principles regarding following conscience in nursing practice.
1.The ethical principles of the health care professionals including the nurses guide the nurses to follow the obligations relative to the conscience and its judgement in decision-making.
The ethical guidelines for the nursing professionals is to follow the decisions of one's conscience and act accordingly.One should pursue the decisions of conscience and act in accordance with the conscience in making decisions related to patient care in nursing practice, The failure to do so leads to feelings of moral distress,inner conflict and guilt in the nursing professional.
2.if there is an action which the nurse believes is wrong as per his/ her conscience and there is objective evidence as to it being correct, he/she must follow his/her conscience.
Conversely,if there is an action which the nurse believes to be correct as per his/her conscience and there is an objective evidence as to it being wrong, he/she must do the action as per the guidance of conscience.
3.The ethical principles guide an individual to resolve the doubt in case of a doubtful conscience.The obligation is to resolve the conflict by seeking help or clarification in case of a doubtful conscience.
4.No healthcare professional should perform an action which is not permissible by his or her conscience and should follow one’s moral guidelines and principles in providing for patient quality care and and sustaining patient’s advocacy role.
5.Once an individual is decided whether an action should be performed or not as per his/her conscience; he or she is duty bound to follow his or her conscience as per the ethical principles guiding the obligations relative to the conscience and its judgement in decision-making..
Discussion:
In the above situation,the nurse says that her conscience clearly dictates that she should not assist at a particular operation which means the nurse believes that assisting surgery is wrong as per her conscience. Her knowledge, intellect ,critical thinking skills and reflection on the situation is responsible for the the judgement given by her conscience.There is objective evidence as to the surgery being correct/morally right as one of the doctors present says that he went to a catholic medical school and assures her that the operation is not immoral leading to a situation of moral conflict.In this situation,the nurse should act in accordance with her conscience as per the guiding ethical principle to follow the obligations relative to the conscience and its decision.
A certain conscience clearly indicates that the person's judgement is certainly and clearly correct and provides clear directions for action.Here the nurse's conscience clearly dictates that she should not assist at a particular operation;she has certain conscience and so she should follow it.
The nurse can consult her seniors, supervisors or colleagues regarding the same if he/she has a doubtful conscience on the issue as the ethical principles guide an individual to resolve the doubt in case of a doubtful conscience.However, here the nurse’s conscience {certain conscience]clearly dictates to her that the action of assisting in the surgery is wrong and she does not have any doubt regarding it. Hence she need not consult or follow advice of her seniors, supervisors or colleagues including one of the other doctors regarding the same for decision making.
Conclusion:
Hence, the nurse must follow her conscience and not follow the advice of one of the doctors to decide whether to assist for the surgery or not and take the decision of the action performance as permissible by her conscience.