Ethics refer to the rules that govern the behavior of people in any setting be it at home or at work. Nursing ethics therefore refer to the codes of conduct in place that will be used to judge the behavior of nurses and those who are in the process of studying it. “Nursing ethics moreover have been influenced by philosophy, theology, psychology as well as nursing praxis (Brent, 2000). ” Various ethical theories and moral principles have been borrowed from the belief systems that people are nurtured with.
The following essay looks at different ethical theories, and how such theories can be applied to solve confidentiality problems that arise in nursing practice, the concept of reasonable limits and how it relates to confidentiality, culture and how culture influences moral values and finally how decisions can be made using the ethical decision making models. B. The importance of ethical theory to nursing Nurses are usually faced with many issues in the course of their work.
They need to make decisions or help patients but at times their personal beliefs contradict with the rules they are supposed to follow. That is why they need to properly understand the underlying reasons as to why they are supposed to follow the set rules. Ethical theories will be important because they will enable nurses to know the kind of information they are allowed to share with their patients and family. Nurses as well as doctors know the different ailments that their patients have. These patients can be strangers, family members, friends or even colleagues.
A friend may be diagnosed with a disease like syphilis and they definitely do not want the whole world discovering about it therefore, they will want the nurses or medical practitioners to keep such information secret. Nurses hence need to have limits on the kind if information that they can share with the general public and which should be kept private. Ethical theory is also important to nurses because they will know how to resolve conflicts in the within the organization as well as outside it.
Sometimes there may be conflicts between medical care givers and patients, among patients or among nurses. They therefore need to be equipped with the necessary skills to solve such issues when they arise. Understanding ethical theories is important as it enables nurses to use ethical decision models that work for them. “This is because they will use the models that interrelated with their culture and therefore will not have a rough time conforming to them.
In addition, ethical theories will help nurses understand how ethics and morals are vital in providing proper health care (Chitty, 2004). ” This is because the decisions made can either improve or destroy a patient’s progress or recovery and this will be reflected on the image of the institution. If it makes good decisions, then better services will be provided and it will have a good reputation. On the other hand if substandard services are offered, patients will prefer other health care organizations and the organization will not have a good image.