Non-maleficence:
When word is spread by mouth, more people have access to that information, and sometimes instead of doing harm, it might help her in finding methods of treatment for condition and gaining extra care and concern from her colleagues when working. However, through this process of gaining information, it breaches her confidentiality and damages her pride, bringing her emotional and self-esteem harm.
Fidelity:
One of the oath in the nurse’s pledge states that nurses should always ensure to uphold the confidence of all personal information entrusted to us and to uphold the integrity of the nursing profession (SNB, n.d.). Healthcare professionals are to keep their commitments and promises to the patients when they care for them but the confidence and integrity of the patient was breached when the information was leaked. Unless the worker herself confirmed that she herself was the one who told the other workers of her own diagnosis, then it is highly likely that the healthcare professionals have breached the oath. However, because the staff wants to do good for the patient, that’s possibly why there’s a need to insist on reporting to the physician to maximise good and minimise harm for the patient. On the other hand, to do good for the patient, it’s also our responsibility as staff to uphold the patient’s personal information and respect their wishes of not wanting to inform the physician if this happens. This collides with the value of autonomy. Beneficence: Sharing of the information could let others be more aware of her condition and this might give them a heads up to be more mindful of possible limitations that the worker with breast cancer may have during her treatment while they are working in the factory. …show more content…
This promotes good for the worker as well, since there might be some resources that can be found through the other workers and there might even be a suitable treatment for her condition. In fact, disclosing her condition Examining all solutions The solutions to this problem should target confidentiality as this was the main issue of the whole incident; the breach of confidentiality. The first solution is to identify the source the workers got their information from and how the confidentiality was breached. The next solution is to clarify the situation with the patient, find out if she is coping with this situation, and if she feels the need to escalate this matter to the physician before coming to a decision myself. I should clarify if the patient is already seeing a physician for treatment elsewhere and if she wants to inform the factory physician about this situation. All the answers that the patient provides will determine the escalation of the matter to the factory physician. The third solution is to explain the importance of respecting the patient’s rights to the workers as they were the ones who facilitated the spread of the patient’s diagnosis to the factory workers. The fourth solution is referring the patient for counselling sessions due to the emotional harm and lowered self-esteem she might have from the entire situation. Besides addressing patients’ physical needs, nurses should also demonstrate having compassion (International Council of Nurses, 2012). By having compassion, we should care for their other needs like emotional needs. Choosing solutions I feel that the best solution would be the second solution of checking on the patient regarding her well-being and her opinion on escalating the matter before coming to a decision. As the situation revolves around the patient, I should first check up on her and allow her to have a say regarding informing the physician. Evaluating solutions chosen This supports the ethical principles of autonomy, fidelity, respect, veracity as I’m respecting the patient’s wishes which is synonymous with their autonomy, being fair and truthful to her respectively. It best supports the principle of autonomy as I chose to act according to the patient’s wishes due to the severity of the situation. However, it contradicts the principle of paternalism as the choice that the patient makes might not be in her best interest or beneficial to her. If she decides not to disclose her condition to the doctor and she hasn’t undergone
When word is spread by mouth, more people have access to that information, and sometimes instead of doing harm, it might help her in finding methods of treatment for condition and gaining extra care and concern from her colleagues when working. However, through this process of gaining information, it breaches her confidentiality and damages her pride, bringing her emotional and self-esteem harm.
Fidelity:
One of the oath in the nurse’s pledge states that nurses should always ensure to uphold the confidence of all personal information entrusted to us and to uphold the integrity of the nursing profession (SNB, n.d.). Healthcare professionals are to keep their commitments and promises to the patients when they care for them but the confidence and integrity of the patient was breached when the information was leaked. Unless the worker herself confirmed that she herself was the one who told the other workers of her own diagnosis, then it is highly likely that the healthcare professionals have breached the oath. However, because the staff wants to do good for the patient, that’s possibly why there’s a need to insist on reporting to the physician to maximise good and minimise harm for the patient. On the other hand, to do good for the patient, it’s also our responsibility as staff to uphold the patient’s personal information and respect their wishes of not wanting to inform the physician if this happens. This collides with the value of autonomy. Beneficence: Sharing of the information could let others be more aware of her condition and this might give them a heads up to be more mindful of possible limitations that the worker with breast cancer may have during her treatment while they are working in the factory. …show more content…
This promotes good for the worker as well, since there might be some resources that can be found through the other workers and there might even be a suitable treatment for her condition. In fact, disclosing her condition Examining all solutions The solutions to this problem should target confidentiality as this was the main issue of the whole incident; the breach of confidentiality. The first solution is to identify the source the workers got their information from and how the confidentiality was breached. The next solution is to clarify the situation with the patient, find out if she is coping with this situation, and if she feels the need to escalate this matter to the physician before coming to a decision myself. I should clarify if the patient is already seeing a physician for treatment elsewhere and if she wants to inform the factory physician about this situation. All the answers that the patient provides will determine the escalation of the matter to the factory physician. The third solution is to explain the importance of respecting the patient’s rights to the workers as they were the ones who facilitated the spread of the patient’s diagnosis to the factory workers. The fourth solution is referring the patient for counselling sessions due to the emotional harm and lowered self-esteem she might have from the entire situation. Besides addressing patients’ physical needs, nurses should also demonstrate having compassion (International Council of Nurses, 2012). By having compassion, we should care for their other needs like emotional needs. Choosing solutions I feel that the best solution would be the second solution of checking on the patient regarding her well-being and her opinion on escalating the matter before coming to a decision. As the situation revolves around the patient, I should first check up on her and allow her to have a say regarding informing the physician. Evaluating solutions chosen This supports the ethical principles of autonomy, fidelity, respect, veracity as I’m respecting the patient’s wishes which is synonymous with their autonomy, being fair and truthful to her respectively. It best supports the principle of autonomy as I chose to act according to the patient’s wishes due to the severity of the situation. However, it contradicts the principle of paternalism as the choice that the patient makes might not be in her best interest or beneficial to her. If she decides not to disclose her condition to the doctor and she hasn’t undergone