Introduction to NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 1 Applying Ethical Principles

The application of ethical principles in the healthcare environment is a critical aspect of clinical practice. The assessment of NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 1 Applying Ethical Principles requires the students to critically explain the topic of the application of ethical principles from various perspectives. The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics serves as the source of these ethical principles. These principles guide carrying out nursing responsibilities in a consistent manner.  They guarantee high quality in nursing care and fulfillment of the ethical obligations of the profession¹. Every nurse should be aware of the ethical principles in their daily nursing practice. These principles provide a framework for assessing the behavior of nurses in practice. They guide them to provide high-quality care within the laws that govern nursing practices. By adhering to these principles, nurses can ensure the emotional, physical, and mental health of each patient.

What is the exact meaning of the phrase “applying ethical principles”?

The phrase “applying ethical principles” refers to the practice of using ethical principles to guide decision-making in real-world situations. The assessment of NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 1 Applying Ethical Principles requires the students to provide their understanding of the application of ethical principles. These principles are considered as the rules that are more permanent, universal, and unchanging. They are opposed to norms and values which are subjective and can change with time. Some of the ethical principles are utilitarianism, universalism, rights/legal, justice, virtue, common good, and ethical relativism4. Utilizing these principles intentionally can help individuals, organizations, and other stakeholders in making principled and responsible decisions.

Importance of applying ethical principles in the healthcare environment

Applying ethical principles in the healthcare environment is very important for professionalism and discipline in the healthcare environment. These principles guide experts in working flawlessly within the healthcare industry. They guarantee that the practitioners must treat their patients with dignity and respect. These principles ensure that the decisions made by healthcare professionals are fair and just5. They also promote trust and confidence in the healthcare system. They ensure that healthcare professionals act in their patients’ best interests5. Moreover, a facility that continuously upholds ethical principles ensures that every action is legally compliant and conducted with integrity6. These principles are applied throughout the healthcare system. It explains everything from relationships in the patient/provider dynamics to research methodologies for discovering the next medical breakthrough6. Therefore, the application of ethical principles is a moral obligation. It is also a critical factor in improving the patient’s health. It is also helpful in advancing the medical knowledge of healthcare staff.

NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 1 requires the specific ethical principles

The assessment of NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 1 Applying Ethical Principles requires the students to provide specific ethical principles. These principles provide a framework for nurses to understand the ethical dilemmas and make decisions that promote the well-being of their patients12. Here are the important ethical principles that guide nurses in the healthcare environment:

1. Autonomy: This principle respects the patient’s right to make decisions for their own health. Nurses must respect and support a patient’s decisions. Healthcare professionals are obliged to fulfill the wishes of patients even if they disagree with them8.

2. Beneficence: This principle requires the nurses to act in the best interest of the patient9. This includes sincerity, promoting good, preventing harm, and removing harm.

3. Non-maleficence: This principle obliges nurses to avoid causing harm to patients. It means that nurses cannot harm the patient. This principle is central to healthcare10.

4. Justice: This principle promotes justice in the healthcare environment. This principle is related to fairness and equality with the patients. Nurses should treat all patients equally and fairly, regardless of their background11.

5. Fidelity: According to this principle, nurses should be faithful to their professional promises. They must provide safe and competent care12.

6. Veracity: This principle obliges the nurses and other healthcare staff to be honest and truthful to their patients8.

7. Accountability: This principle holds the nurses responsible for their actions. It requires the healthcare staff to explain their actions to their patients and their profession10.

Analysis of ethical issues in the healthcare surrounding

The assessment of NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 1 Applying Ethical Principles requires the students to provide an in-depth analysis of ethical issues in the healthcare surroundings. Here are the key points that analyze the ethical issues in the healthcare surrounding:

1. Big Data and Dehumanization: The role of big data and predictive analytics in medical decision-making is increasing day by day. It raises questions about the ethics of big data in healthcare. This concern specifically comes to mind that data-driven decisions can risk and dehumanize the patients13.

2. Automatically Collected Data: Many modern medical devices are capable of reporting a good variety of health information. They provide quality information with or without a patient’s knowledge13. The industry must have the answers to the questions about handling the automatically collected data.

3. Resource Allocation: Ethical issues can become very challenging when resources are limited, for example, during a pandemic14. The professionals must take care before the number of patients exceeds a hospital’s capacity.

4. Testing New Medical Technology: It is very important to test the efficacy of a new medical technology without harming the patients. This is a common ethical issue that healthcare professionals often face15.

5. Patient Autonomy vs. Medical Advice: It is necessary to respect the wishes of the patients in every way. Healthcare providers must prioritize patient well-being. It can sometimes mean respecting the patients’ wishes even if the staff member might disagree with them15.

6. Legal vs. Ethical: It is necessary to understand the difference between the legal and ethical perspectives. Something can be unethical but perfectly legal. For example, if the emergency room is constantly backlogged, it is not legally required for the healthcare facility or staff to speed up their work16.

Methods of applying ethical principles

The assessment of NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 1 Applying Ethical Principles requires the students to provide the methods of applying ethical principles. Here are some methods for applying ethical principles:

1. Understanding the principles: The ethical principles must be understood before their application. It is important to understand what ethical principles are and how they are different from values. Ethical principles are considered as more permanent, universal, and unchanging rules. The values are subjective and they can change with time17.

2. Identifying relevant principles: It is necessary to identify the relevant principle according to the situation. Different principles are used in different situations. Therefore, it is important to identify the principles that are most relevant to the situation17.

3. Using ethical approaches intentionally: Using the ethical principles and ethical approaches intentionally can help examine choices and options before making a decision or solving an ethical dilemma18.

4. Observing Principles in Practice: Becoming familiar with these principles can help inform your moral decision process and help you observe the principles that a team, workgroup, or organization that you now participate in or will be joining may be using19.

5. Using creativity: Using creativity is also important when examining difficult moral decisions when sometimes it may seem that there are two “right” ways to act in a situation or perhaps no way seems morally right20.

6. Designing, reviewing, and conducting research: Ensuring that research is designed, reviewed, and conducted in a manner that ensures quality and integrity and maximizes the chance of obtaining useful results21.

Benefits of communication in overcoming ethical dilemmas

The assessment of NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 1 Applying Ethical Principles requires the students to understand the role of effective communication in overcoming ethical dilemmas. These points highlight the importance of communication in resolving ethical issues. Here are the important benefits of communication in overcoming the ethical dilemmas:

1. Promotes Understanding: Effective communication promotes excellent understanding among the staff members. It helps both sides to understand the ethical dilemma at hand. It fosters transparency and promotes open dialogue.

2. Facilitates Decision Making: It is necessary to have flawless decision-making abilities within a healthcare environment. Through clear communication, individuals can share their perspectives and insights more clearly. It can lead to better-informed decisions that fulfill ethical standards.

3. Prevents Misunderstandings: It is necessary to prevent misunderstandings between the staff and their surroundings. Clear communication can prevent misunderstandings. It can also solve the ethical dilemmas.

4. Encourages Ethical Behavior: The perfect healthcare environment should encourage ethical behavior among the team members. Open and honest communication encourages ethical behavior. It sets an example for others to follow.

5. Builds Trust: It is necessary to build trust in the patients about healthcare facilities and among the hospital staff. Ethical communication builds trust among team members.  It is crucial for resolving ethical dilemmas from the professional surroundings.

6. Support a culture that strictly adheres to ethical principles: The medical staff should communicate about ethics regularly. It will help create a workplace culture that values ethical decision-making.

Methods for resolving ethical dilemmas in the healthcare environment

The assessment of NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 1 Applying Ethical Principles requires the students to elaborate their understanding about the methods of resolving ethical problems in the healthcare environment. These methods provide a helpful framework for solving ethical issues in the healthcare environment22. Here are the best and professional methods for resolving ethical problems in the healthcare environment:

1. Understanding the issue: The staff should understand the issues before finding their solutions. It is important to understand the situation and the involved ethical issues before resolving it22.

2. Identifying the relevant principles: medical professionals should identify the principle that is relevant to their present situation. These relevant principles will be helpful for guidance in professional decision-making22.

3. Intentionally using ethical approaches: Medical professionals including doctors, nurses, and other staff members should intentionally use ethical approaches for excellent results. Utilize one or more ethical principles and approaches intentionally. It will help to examine choices and options before making an important decision22.
4. Seek help: The health care team should seek help when there is ethical uncertainty in any situation22. It is necessary to seek assistance from ethics subject matter experts and other helpful resources.

5. Utilizing helpful strategies: The healthcare professionals should utilize all their skills and strategies for solving the issues. This process involves strategies like clarification, communication, negotiation, mediation, and teamwork. This will serve the medical staff well as they work towards a successful resolution of complex moral issues22.

6. Maintaining Professional Integrity in the healthcare environment: The healthcare staff should maintain integrity and discipline in the professional working environment22. The heads of medical centers should maintain professional integrity in the healthcare environment.

Related Assessment: NURS FPX4000 Assessment 3 Analyze a Current Health Care Problem or Issue

Conclusion

In conclusion, applying ethical principles in the healthcare environment is an important aspect of clinical practice. The assessment of Capella University named, NHS FPX 4000 Assessment 1 Applying Ethical Principles requires future nurses to provide their concepts about the implementation of ethical principles in the medical environment. These principles guides the work of medical professionals in the healthcare industry. These ethical principles guarantee that practitioners are treating their patients with high dignity and respect. They elaborate that the decisions made by healthcare professionals are fair and just. Effective communication plays an important role in overcoming ethical problems. It leads to a clear understanding of the issues at hand. It promotes transparency and open dialogue between the medical staff and the patients, leading to increased trust in the patients. Ethical communication is essential for maintaining a strong culture of discipline in the workplace. When ethical principles are applied correctly, it can increase the character of the company and decrease the risks. It helps an organization in avoiding problems and compromising situations. This can lead to better-informed decisions and setting an ethical example for coworkers and superiors. Adherence to ethical principles can lead to a more effective and ethical organization.

References

1.      Ethical Principles in Nursing + Why They’re Important. https://www.nursingprocess.org/ethical-principles-in-nursing.html.

2.     What is the Nursing Code of Ethics? | Nurse.org. https://nurse.org/education/nursing-code-of-ethics/.

3.     Applied Ethics – Ethics Unwrapped. https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/applied-ethics.

4.     Ethical Principles and Responsible Decision-Making. https://openstax.org/books/principles-management/pages/5-3-ethical-principles-and-responsible-decision-making.

5.     Ethics in Health Care: Improving Patient Outcomes. https://publichealth.tulane.edu/blog/ethics-in-healthcare/.

6.     The role of ethical principles in health care and the implications for …. https://jme.bmj.com/content/25/5/394.

7.     Ethical Principles in Nursing + Why They’re Important. https://www.nursingprocess.org/ethical-principles-in-nursing.html.

8.     Ethical Principles in Nursing and Why They Matter. https://www.wgu.edu/blog/ethical-principles-nursing-why-they-matter2303.html.

9.     Ethical Practice: NCLEX-RN – RN Programs. https://www.registerednursing.org/nclex/ethical-practice/.

10. ANA’s Principles of Environmental Health for Nursing Practice. https://www.nursingworld.org/~4af4f2/globalassets/docs/ana/ethics/principles-of-environmental-health-online_final.pdf.

11. What is the Nursing Code of Ethics? | Nurse.org. https://nurse.org/education/nursing-code-of-ethics/.

12. 6 Ethical Issues in Healthcare in 2020 | Advent Health University. https://www.ahu.edu/blog/ethical-issues-in-healthcare.

13. Ethics in Health Care: Improving Patient Outcomes. https://publichealth.tulane.edu/blog/ethics-in-healthcare/.

14. Ethical Issues in Healthcare & Medical Challenges | Sermo. https://www.sermo.com/resources/ethical-issues-in-healthcare/.

15. Global health ethics: key issues – World Health Organization (WHO). https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/global-health-ethics-key-issues.

16. 9 Ethical Principles and Responsible Decision-Making. https://open.maricopa.edu/societyandbusiness/chapter/ethical-principles-and-responsible-decision-making/.

17. 5.3 Ethical Principles and Responsible Decision-Making. https://openstax.org/books/principles-management/pages/5-3-ethical-principles-and-responsible-decision-making.

18. Applying for ethical approval: Basic principles | Research Integrity. https://www.research-integrity.admin.cam.ac.uk/research-ethics/ethics-application-guidance/applying-ethical-approval-basic-principles.

19. Two Methods for Applying Ethics – SMU (Southern Methodist University). https://www.smu.edu/Provost/Ethics/Resources/EthicsToolBox/PuttingEthicsIntoPractice/TwoMethodsforApplyingEthics.

20. 6 Ways to Apply Ethical Design Principles to Your Work. https://blog.pixpa.com/6-ways-apply-ethical-design-principles-work/.

21. Resolving Ethical Dilemmas: A Guide for Clinicians. https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/ovid/resolving-ethical-dilemmas-a-guide-for-clinicians-12535.

22. Ethical Decision-Making for Healthcare Executives – ACHE. https://www.ache.org/about-ache/our-story/our-commitments/ethics/ache-code-of-ethics/ethical-decision-making-for-healthcare-executives.