Ethics involves the understanding of what is morally right and reasonable to do (Roberts, 2002) for the good of others in society. Ethics and ethical standards are crucial for all health care professionals. Nursing regulatory organizations around the world require that health care professionals show exemplary skills in ethics as one of the requirements for effective practice (Chao et al., 2017). The requirements for mastery of ethics are also applicable to psychiatric nursing and mental health. Mental health professionals exist as a unique identity among nursing professionals. Most nurses, including psychiatric nurses, start practicing without demonstrating considerable competence in the application of ethics in practice, which reveals an apparent shortcoming in the psychiatric nursing practice. Among all the medical specialties, psychiatry stands out. This is majorly because it is easier to infringe upon the rights of the patients in handling them or treating them against their will (Harris, 2017). However, psychiatrists are granted the power to handle and treat patients by society using reality, logical reasoning, and accurate judgment (Harris, 2017). This is where psychiatric patient ethics sets in.
Practice competencies are considered as one of the essential fundamental bases to enhance efficiency in professional practice. In psychiatry, ethics entails the integration of specialized skills and expertise to reduce or avoid the suffering of individuals who are mentally disoriented (Roberts, 2002). The practice of ethics in psychiatric patient handling is defined by multiple concepts of bioethics, comprehensive ethical skills, and evidence (Roberts, 2002). The bioethics concepts that are involved in the ethics of psychiatric patients include respect to persons, fidelity, non-malevolence, clinical competencies, confidentiality, and respect for the law (Roberts, 2002). Besides these concept-based ethics, there are other ethical skills that are central to the handling of psychiatric patients. These skills include the ability to identify the ethical features and core values that are core in the care of psychiatric patients.
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Furthermore, a psychiatric nurse should be skilled in balancing the wishes of the family of the patient against the needs of the confidentiality of a psychiatric patient. For example, psychiatric nurses may encounter a scenario whereby the family of the patient requires more medication or demand hospitalization of the patient against the patient's will, even when the patient shows no signs of danger. Such cases present ethical dilemmas to psychiatric nurses who are confused about whose need to serve; the patient or society? (Harris, 2017).
Another psychiatric ethical skill involves the capacity of a psychiatric nurse to do self-observation to seek to help and reduce harm to psychiatric patients. This skill includes the proficiency required to alleviate the commission of boundary transgressions and violations in the handling and treatment of mentally ill patients (Roberts, 2002). Furthermore, it is also important, as a part of this ethical skill, for the psychiatric nurse to avoid making diagnosis errors, either by underemphasizing or overemphasizing. Psychiatric nurses have to realize that they are put in an uncomfortable situation continually, and often they may be in the middle of an ethical dilemma. Furthermore, psychiatric nurses also need to professionally apply professional, ethical decision-making models while responding to complex patient situations.
In conclusion, ethics are fundamental to the practice of psychiatry professionals. A lack of ethics in psychiatric clinical environments has a high correlation to moral distress in society. Without ethical proficiency among psychiatric patient nurses, individuals are liable to bearing guilt and claims of inadequacy and negligence. Psychiatric nurses need precise specifications on psychiatric patient ethics to effectively work for the good of both the patient and society.
References
Chao, S. Y., Chang, Y. C., Yang, S. C., & Clark, M. J. (2017). Development, implementation, and effects of an integrated web-based teaching model in a nursing ethics course. Nurse Education Today , 55, 31-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2017.04.011
Harris, J. H. (2016). Moral distress and the importance of psychiatric ethics. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 11 (5), 2. https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.1176/appi.ajp-rj.2016.110501
Roberts, L. W. (2002) Ethics as endeavor in psychiatry: principles, skills and evidence. Psychiatric Times. 19 (12). https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/ethics-endeavor-psychiatry-principles-skills-and-evidence
