Which Ethical Approach Do You Think Is the Most Useful for Nurses When They Plan for Or Deal with A Natural Disaster, and Why Did You Select That Approach?
Utilitarian approach proves to be relatively ideal when the nurses are handling a disaster. This approach holds that the nurses should strive to take a course of action which in turn promotes the greatest good to a majority of people. Undoubtedly, disaster happens so fast and, in most cases unexpectedly, thus, affecting a massive number of individuals. Furthermore, disaster disrupts the conventional procedures or criteria mostly used by healthcare institutions. As such, the utilitarian approach provides a framework for guiding nurses especially in crisis and confusion circumstances caused by disasters such as that of Katrina Hurricane. In the sense that, a nurse should take a course of action that addresses the most needs of a large number of vulnerable individuals affected by the disaster. The goal of every healthcare organizations is to minimize pain and suffering to a majority of the patients since it is impossible to solve the problems of everybody (Hakan, 2013).
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Discuss Some Ways Nurses Can Prevent Developing Moral Distress When Their Decision-Making Processes Conflict with The Processes That Must Be Used During Times of Disaster.
Pause to ponder, to their level best, all factors or elements that might affect the decision which they are about to make. The predominant reason for a majority of poor ethical decisions is attributed to the nurse’s inability to examine the matter at hand objectively due to biases, blind spots or prejudices which in turn distorts how they perceive the dilemma situations. As such, pausing for a minute to get awareness of potential inflexible mindsets that could impact the judgement of disaster situations and subsequently deal accordingly with those mindsets could prove to be pivotal.
Consulting a trusted expert ethicist can also prove to be pivotal in a disaster situation. This is because ethical decision-making comprises a relatively complex process which is highly influenced by individual values, prejudices, beliefs and perceptions. As such, consulting an expert could be beneficial in terms of getting alternative options which may not be explicit, thus, minimizing moral distress.
Generating alternative options or decisions may also prove to be paramount in reducing moral distress. Moral distress in most scenarios is caused by the fact that a nurse has limited or no options to choose from in a disaster situation. Therefore, generating as many options as possible by granting a nurse a mental relief.
Consulting existing guidelines that may be applied as a potential strategy for resolution. Nurses ought to locate resources that are predominantly used as a guide for moral duties of mental health providers. For instance, referring to relevant documents such as policy statements, ethics codes or general ethics may prove to be helpful during periods of disaster.
Discuss how the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics provides guidance for nurses who respond to natural disaster.
The code of ethics comprehensively articulates the elements that make up ethical conduct in all the possible scenarios, including disaster situations. For instance, in reference to ANA Code of Ethics, provision 2, which asserts that the primary commitment of every nurse is to the patient. Nevertheless, as much as the nurses are ethically obliged to care for the patients, they are equally obliged to care for themselves as individuals. This is made evident in provision 5 which asserts that every nurse owes equal duty to self as well as others. Therefore, in disaster circumstances, nurses are expected to provide high-quality care to the vulnerable patients while at the same time ensuring that they are taking care of themselves (ANA, 2017).
References
American Nurses Association. (2017). Who Will be There? Ethics, the Law and a Nurses Obligation to Respond in a Disaster . Issue Brief, 1-5
Hakan, K. (2013). Ethical Dilemmas in Disaster Medicine. Science Direct, (10), 602-612
