CaseStudy
CaseStudy
Casestudy for week 5 is about Judie, a nurse manager for ten years. Herhospital administration highly values her good work. However, for thepast several months, she feels more frustrated and less satisfiedwith her work due to staffing cuts and other instructional decisions.She feels like quitting her job, but she cannot quit due to herseniority, good benefits that she gets, and also she hasresponsibilities of taking care of her two children.
ValuesIdentified in the Case Study
Judiehas positive values that make her a good employee. Firstly, sheposses caring value, which is essential in nursing professional. Fromthe case study, she integrates this value in her clinical practice.It has always been her joy to attend her patients, which portrays thecaring value. Additionally, Judie possesses altruism value. She isconcerned about the welfare and the well-being of her patients. Sheextends her altruism caring beyond her family to provide care to herpatients. Although she is aware her distress is negatively affectingher family, she goes ahead and carries some work at home. This is asign of self-sacrifice.
PersonalValues
Bothof Judie’s values also reflect my personal values as a nurse. I amaware that caring for the patients is very vital in nursingprofessional. Additionally, I also have the altruism value. Thesevalues have taught that I should not only give my heart but also mytime and intellect. In fact, caring and altruism were my primarymotives for entering the nursing profession.
ConflictsRelated to the Values
Someof the conflicts related to Judie’s values include balancing careefficiency and quality. Of late, Judie has many responsibilities oftaking care of her patients and attending administrative duties. As aresult, she might not be able to balance all these responsibilities.Hence, she is likely to face multiple role responsibilities conflict.Another conflict related to Judie value is the staffing inadequacies.Without sufficient staffing, it is complex for Judie to meet theprofessional practice ethical standards. Understaffing might precludeher to meet her primary responsibilities such as providinghigh-quality care.
Recommendationfor Judie
Todeal with these conflicts, Judie should recognize her ethicaldistress. This will increase her awareness of what is happening, andtherefore, increase resolution possibilities (Austin,Lemermeyer, Goldberg, Bergum, and Johnson, 2005).This will also ensure she does not use negative coping strategies,like quitting the job, to deal with the situation because sheunderstands the consequences. Secondly, Judie should refer to theCodes of Ethics for the registered nurses. This will help her clarifythe ethical concerns that are contributing to her ethical distress(CanadianNurses Association, 2003).
PersonalDecision related to the Case Study
IfI were in Judie’s position, my personal and professional beliefswould guide me in making the decision to retain my profession. Ibelieve the quality of life for my patients is very significant.Therefore, I will be more likely to retain my position despite thedistress. As a result, will continue taking care of my patients, aswell as taking care of my children.
Conclusion
Providingsafe, competent and ethical care remains nurse’s commitment totheir patients (Ulrich,Taylor, Soeken, O’Donnell, Farrar, Danis, and Grady, 2010).Unfortunately, in some cases, nurses are frustrated when enactingtheir professional commitment. As a result, these frustrations leadto ethical distress. However, if nurses like Judie can identify theiranguish as ethical distress, they can positively respond, resolve,and learn how to deal with the situation hence, prevent building upmoral residue.
References
Austin,W., Lemermeyer, G., Goldberg, L., Bergum, V., & Johnson, M. S.(2005, March). Moral distress in healthcare practice: The situationof nurses. In HECforum (Vol.17, No. 1, pp. 33-48). Springer Netherlands.
CanadianNurses Association. (2003). Ethical distress in health careenvironments. Ethicsin practice for registered nurses,(1480-9990).
Ulrich,C. M., Taylor, C., Soeken, K., O’Donnell, P., Farrar, A., Danis,M., & Grady, C. (2010). Everyday ethics: ethical issues andstress in nursing practice. Journalof Advanced Nursing, 66(11),2510-2519.