In: Nursing
2. What are the most important moral principles that a medical professional must follow in their profession? How would you define the Normative Basis for your profession? (Nursing)
The principle of Autonomy: This principle allows the person to make decisions for themselves. Also called self-determination or self-governance, This principle upholds the rights of a patient to make decisions about their own health. They have the right to refuse treatment if it goes against their cultural or religious beliefs even if the treatment proves to be beneficial. The patient can sign a living will in which they can mention what treatment and medication should they receive in case they are not in a condition to communicate. Decisions like the use or no use of medical equipment for prolonging life can be mentioned in this will.
The principle of autonomy also stops a healthcare individual to make decisions without the consent of the patient or their legal guardian or according to their will.
The principle of Nonmaleficence: This principle focuses on doing good for the patient and no harm in any way should come to the patient whether by omission or by the commission. Maleficence by the act of omission means not doing something that should have been done as directed by the physician to improve the patient's health. An example of this could be The provider or assigned nurse not giving the medication at the right time. Maleficence by the act of commission would be doing something wrong or making a lazy/unattentive mistake that could be harmful to the patient's life. An example of this could be: Nurse administrating the wrong medication to the patient which causes serious health issues for the patient.
Not Attending to a patient whose condition is under the range of competence could also be illegal and be accused of maleficence by omission. Releasing health-related information of a patient could also prove to be an act of maleficence by the commission.
Normative Ethics or Normative basis is the branch of morality that is concerned with the criteria of what is right or wrong. A pre-determined set of rules that could implicate the life or death of a human. These rules could be formulated based on experience, text-book knowledge, guidance from peers, etc, and can help deal with ethical dilemmas that one encounters during the field of nursing.
These are based on actions that are inherently right/wrong which are called the deontological approach or what may seem right or wrong based on the consequences which are known as the Teleogical approach.