EthicalDilemma
Nursepractitioners are committed to promoting the wellbeing and thewelfare of patients above any personal interest(AmericanNurse Association,2015).An ethical issue arises when a nurse’s behavior goes beyondprofessional limits. It can occur when a nurse personal interestreplaces those commitments to the patient that he/she ought to upholdsuch that they harm the patient-clinician relationship or thepatient. To determine whether an action is ethical, one must askhimself/ herself these questions whether the activity is expectednormal behavior for such a member. Also, one should consider if thesituation compromises the relationship between clinician and patient.Then, whether the action will cause other people to question theobjective of the behavior and finally if anyone would wish that theinstitution and colleagues knew of the involvements(Ethics Committee of the Veterans Health Administration, 2003).
CaseStudy
Apatient who was admitted to the hospital overheard his doctor claimthat he wanted to remodel his house. He immediately gave his businesscard to the doctor and told him he would do the renovation for him atdiscounted price because he liked the way he was treated.
Problem
Suchoffers from the client might be quidpro quo.The problem that arises here is the relation between patient andphysician might change putting the objectivity of the doctor inquestion (Salladay n.d). The doctor might decide to waive the fee inexpectation the discount will be much larger for his houseremodeling.
Solution
Ifa physician finds himself or herself in such situation of a dualrelationship, it is recommended that he/she transfers therelationship to another health care provider. If the doctor doeswaiver the fee with intentions to get a greater discount, I can writea mandatory report to the employer or American College of Physicians(College of Nurse Ontario, 2006).
TheExpected Outcome
Thechanging of the health care provider might help in preventing thecompromising of the doctor- patient relationship. On the other hand,the College committee or hospital committee can investigate thematter and reprimand the physician, thus preventing such cases in thefuture.
References
AmericanNurse Association. (2015). Codeof Ethics for Nurses With Interpretive Statements,1-42. Retrieved fromhttp://nursingworld.org/DocumentVault/Ethics-1/Code-of-Ethics-for-Nurses.html
Collegeof Nurse Ontario. (2006). A process guide for employers, facilityoperators and nurses. MandatoryReporting,1-8. Retrieved fromhttp://www.cno.org/globalassets/docs/ih/42006_fsmandreporting.pdf
EthicsCommittee of the Veterans Health Administration. (2003). A Report bythe National Ethics Committee of the Veterans Health Administration.EthicalBoundaries in the Patient-Clinician Relationship,1-15. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ethics.va.gov/docs/necrpts/NEC_Report_20030701_Ethical_Boundaries_Pt-Clinician_Relationship.pdf
Salladay, S. A.(n.d.). Legal/Ethical Questions. Retrieved fromhttp://www.nursingcenter.com/upload/journals/documents/legalethicalissues.html