The current issue that has raised concern in the public domain is the issue of a nurse accepting a gift from the patients. While there are no regulations regarding the acceptance of gifts from the patients, the issue has raised a debate currently. While others argue that receiving gifts from the patients can influence the judgment of the nurse and affect the care provided, others argue that such a move is good for establishing a strong relationship between the patient and the nurse. Many people argue that accepting gifts from the patients is unethical because it can influence the kind of judgment and treatment to be received by the patient. The value and the motive of the patient are also important in deciding the morality of the gift. If the motive is an appreciation, then it may not have any serious impact on the outcome of the treatment method.
The utilitarianism approach is used to analyze this issue. The utilitarianism theory is an ethical theory that determines the right and the wrong by looking at its outcome ( Vaughn , 2015). It states that the most ethical choice is the one that produces the greatest good and the least harm. When an act produces the greatest good to the most people, then such an act is said to be ethical ( Yazdani & Murad, 2015 ). On the other hand, an issue that has the greatest harm is considered unethical. Based on the issue of receiving gifts from the patients, one looks at the possible impact that it will have on the treatment. When considered that when a nurse receives a gift from a patient, their decisions and judgment are more likely to be affected. In this case, the gift will have an impact on the judgment and treatment of the patient, and this will instead harm the patient ( Mill, 2016 ). The physician needs to make judgment independently without outside influence. Therefore, it is unethical for a nurse to receive a gift from the patient based on the utilitarianism.
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References
Vaughn, L., (2015). Doing ethics: Moral reasoning and contemporary issues . WW Norton & Company.
Yazdani, N., & Murad, H. S., (2015). Toward an ethical theory of organizing. Journal of Business Ethics , 127 (2), 399-417.
Mill, J. S., (2016). Utilitarianism. In Seven masterpieces of philosophy (pp. 337-383). Routledge.
