As they perform their duties, nurses are often confronted with ethical dilemmas. These dilemmas force the nurses to balance conflicting ethical concerns with their personal values. It is indeed encouraging that most nurses choose to honor the code of their profession in resolving the dilemmas. However, these dilemmas remain a source of concern and stress. Informed consent is one of the issues from which ethical dilemmas arise. For nurses to be effective in the delivery of quality care while respecting the rights of patients, they need to uphold the value of informed consent at all times.
Policy Advocacy
As they perform their duty, nurses are expected to adhere to professional standards. As indicated above, obtaining consent from patients before conducting procedures is among these standards. In the discussion below, nurses will be challenged to endeavor to respect the right and will of their patients. To demonstrate that they respect patients, they need to seek patient consent in all situations. While they may face challenges in the execution of their mandate, nurses should remember that the rights of patients are inviolable.
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Target Audience
This policy paper would resonate with a diverse audience. However, nurses are the primary targets. They will be urged to adhere to the standards which govern their profession. As they heed the call expressed in the paper, nurses will help to transform the image of the healthcare profession. Medical institutions are another constituent of the target audience. These institutions should receive the message expressed in the policy because they can implement measures which make it easy for nurses to obtain informed consent. Patients also constitute the target audience. They need to understand that they have a right to consent to or refuse treatment. Overall, this policy advocacy paper should appeal to any and all stakeholders who are committed to safeguarding the rights of patients.
The Importance of Obtaining Informed Consent
Stress is one of the numerous challenges that nurses face while delivering care (Sarafis et al., 2016). There have been efforts to understand the factors that cause the stress. Thanks to these efforts, it is now understood that the ethical dilemmas arising from the need to obtain informed consent from patients is among the chief causes of the stress (Ulrich et al., 2010). To understand how the quest by nurses to ensure informed consent may lead to stress, it is necessary to consider the dynamics of informed consent. Essentially, informed consent involves an interaction between two parties with unequal power (Dorrity et al., 2016). The medical practitioner usually possesses more power. The nurse is required to ensure that this power imbalance does not impact negatively on the delivery of care. As they attempt to protect patients through informed consent, nurses are confronted with powerful forces that are intent on harming patients. This causes the nurses to suffer stress. Therefore, for the stress that nurses face to be alleviated, all medical practitioners should commit to obtain informed consent and respect all the rights of patients.
It is true that nurses suffer stress as they attempt to obtain informed consent from patients. However, the mere fact that their jobs are stressful does not mean that nurses are spared of the obligation to ask patients to provide consent. The mandate of obtaining informed consent cannot be left to nurses alone. A multi-stakeholder approach is needed. Nurses need to collaborate with such other practitioners as physicians and surgeons if the challenge of obtaining informed consent is to be overcome (Menendez, 2013). While collaboration is vital, it is not sufficient to fully address the challenges surrounding informed consent. It is also important to concerned stakeholders to invest in nurse education (Susilo et al., 2014). Through education, nurses will be sensitized to uphold the value of informed consent at all costs.
The principle of informed consent is rooted in Western philosophy. However, this principle is gaining acceptance in other cultures. For example, nurses in Korea recognize the importance of informed consent. Basing their perspective on Confucianism, these nurses endeavor to uphold this principle. However, these nurses also encounter the same moral distress and stress that their counterparts in Western countries face (Lee et al., 2009). The experiences of these nurses indicate that the moral dilemmas arising from informed consent are a global phenomenon that requires a global response. While the issue of informed consent mostly concerns patients, it is important to note that this principle can be extended to other medical situations. For example, nurses who participate in research are still required to obtain informed consent from participants (Judkins-Cohn et al., 2013). This fact indicates that in all their professional roles, nurses need to obtain consent.
In conclusion, patients are the primary focus of healthcare. Given this fact, all practitioners in the healthcare profession need to strive to meet the needs of patients. Nurses are among the practitioners with important roles to play. If they are to be effective in the execution of their mandate, nurses must follow professional guidelines and standards. Informed consent is among the standards which should guide the work of nurses. In all their endeavors, nurses should seek the consent of patients. It is also critical for other practitioners to join nurses in obtaining consent and protecting the other rights of patients.
References
Dorrity, A., Mee, S., Buckley, A., & Corless, L. (2016). Patient narratives 2: helping patients
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Judkins-Cohn, Kielwasser-Withrow, K., Owen, M., & Ward, J. (2013). Ethical principles of
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Menendez, J. B. (2013). Informed consent: essential legal and ethical principles for nurses.
JONA’s Healthcare Law, Ethics, and Regulation, 15 (4), 140-4.
Sarafis, P., Rousaki, E., Tsounis, A., Malliarou, M., Lahana, L., Bamidis, P., Niakas, D., &
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Ulrich, C. M., Taylor, C., Soeken, K., O’Donnell, P., Farrar, A., Danis, M., & Grady, C. (2010).
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