A registered nurse (RN) may encounter moral distress

The impact of the IOM report on nursing education
January 11, 2023
The Current Event paper
January 11, 2023

A registered nurse (RN) may encounter moral distress

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D1 Tatyana: A clinical situation in which a registered nurse (RN) may encounter moral distress includes continuing what the nurse feels is an unnecessary treatment for a patient.
Ask appropriate questions to become aware that moral distress is present. I would speak with the specialist about the patient’s issues. The doctor would take into account my facts if I had convincing evidence to support them. I would advise myself to ponder questions of this nature in order to determine whether I am experiencing moral unease in my particular situation.

Affirm your distress and commitment to take care of yourself and address moral distress.I would check in with myself in order to be sure that I am okay with the decision I’ve made. If it’s safe for my patient, if I have sufficient evidence, and if it were me would I accept the change in treatment?
Assess the sources of your moral distress to prepare for an action plan. I would need to understand where my distress is stemming from. How can I change my mindset or the onset of my distress? Sometimes walking away from the situation and coming back to it might be an effective way to prepare for an action plan.
Act to implement strategies for changes to preserve your integrity and authenticity. As I developed my intervention strategy, I made sure to take the necessary precautions to safeguard my integrity. I would appeal to a supervisor when I believe the doctor erred in judgment because they refused to hear my case. If I am comfortable with the doctor’s explanation that this is the best course of action, I would agree. There is no need to bear emotional weight because I can comfort my patient in the same way.
D1 Amanda: A nurse can have moral distress when caring for a patient and seeing another co-worker treat their patient unfairly or unjustly. One example was when a nurse asked another experienced nurse to help insert an IV into the patient because the nurse could not get the IV in correctly. The other nurse happily obliges and inserts an IV into the other nurse’s patient. The only problem is when the nurse inserts the needle, the patient winces and grabs the nearby pillows in pain. The patient’s nurse can see the patient in a lot of pain, in fact, more than usual, but cannot say anything because she asked for this nurse’s help, and the patient needs antibiotics. Although, her action plan is to let the experienced nurse finish trying to insert the IV, and if the nurse cannot get it this time, then the patient’s nurse will tell her she will find the charge nurse to help and later on say to the co-worker to try and be more gentle next time. Then from now on the nurse can make sure to say something right away when she sees someone putting her patient through unnecessary pain.

D2 María Luisa: Social media can be a sticky situation and violate ethical nursing practices. Social media platforms can violate privacy, patient trust, as well as HIPAA. This can also jeopardize a nurse’s career/license and may face legal consequences. ANA explains, “information contained on a social network has the capacity to propagate itself, taking on a life of its own in cyberspace. Inaccuracies become “fact” by mere repetition, creating confusion that is particularly dangerous (2011). Most employers have a social media policy that must be adhered to. On the other hand, social media can be a great resource/tool for looking up information on medical diagnosis, resource for research and evidenced based practices, as well as establishing relationships amongst other healthcare workers for support and discussions on different scenarios involved in healthcare. It also offers the profession a vehicle for educating the public on many nursing and public health matters in a changing and dynamic healthcare system. Nursing must have a professional presence and be visible online (ANA, 2011). There are pros and cons on both sides, as long as social media is used in healthy, educational purpose manner, shouldn’t be a problem. It is always important to practice patient confidentiality and if it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it!.

D2 Marissa: Social media can have positive or negative impacts on patients. There is potential to violate autonomy and patient privacy. First, we will talk about the benefits of social media. Social media can be helpful in rapidly raising awareness about a blood shortage, or even setting up a “GoFundMe” for donations to allow families to afford expensive lifesaving medications or treatments. Additionally, there are some social media influencers who are educated health care professionals that publish accurate important educational information. Unfortunately, social media can also have a negative impact. Social media can imply that perceptions of ethics results from consensus and conformity (Bagdasaroy et al., 2017, p. 549) which can pressure individuals to act in a way acceptable to society which may not allow for autonomy because it goes against their personal beliefs, but the patient feels pressured to conform to societal standards. Patients’ right to privacy is breeched when a healthcare provider takes a selfie and inadvertently posts confidential patient health information in the background of the picture. Not only is this unsafe and unethical behavior, the general public could have access to these pictures which informs them the hospital the patient is located at.