Morality in Nursing

Morality in Nursing


Levine in 1989 stated that all nursing actions were a direct reflection on morality. Ethics tries to make sense of what is right and wrong. Who defines that in nursing? Is it in our nature to be ethical?

Kant believed that we need to act as everyone will act. If I am to do something, can I rationally expect everyone to act the same way? If the answer is no, then we should not perform that action, even if it may create some sort of minimal happiness. One must ask themselves … will the act have the good of humanity in mind, or will the action result in a benefit to the self. If the benefit of the action is only to the self, then one must not do that action, they need to find the action that would create the benefit to all.

The same rules apply in nursing. When we walk into work, and we begin our day, we must not think about the benefit of our actions resulting on ourselves. We must think about the nursing care that will benefit the good for all. When in the ER and an active resuscitation comes through the door, a consideration for all needs to be included before futile measures are executed. It may benefit your conscience to perform all medical interventions possible, but is it good for that poor soul that your are requiring to participate in the activities of this earth when they could move on to some other thing or place, even if it means to biodegrade. Does it benefit the next patient that comes in when you have used your last medication that could have saved their life on someone who has less than a 1% chance of surviving? No. It does neither patient any benefit, nor any benefit to your own morality.

The four concepts of ethics in nursing are:

1. The respect for autonomy

2. Nonmaleficence

3. Beneficence

4. Justice

These basic ethical concepts are not typically covered in nursing education. They need to be, because we are all to execute actions based on these concepts. This may be what distinguishes nurses from physicians because they are required to cover the ethical aspects of medicine. Does this mean that we are lesser thinkers because we do not require this in our basic education? Does this mean that we are just to execute the orders of physicians and not question the ethics of a situation because these concepts have not been introduced to us formally, or is it understood that we are already possess understanding of these concepts and we are above learning about them. It is essential for nurses to have a further understanding because we are not just order takers anymore, We are paving new paths for integrated thought and a higher level of human healing.