Sample Solution

Ethics are important in nursing as they provide a set of values and principles which guide the daily decisions made by nurses throughout their professional practice. The core ethical principles of justice, beneficence, nonmaleficence and autonomy all play an integral role within the discipline; helping to define the level of care expected when dealing with patients while also protecting them from potential harm.

On one hand justice requires that healthcare professionals should address issues in a fair manner while taking into account individual circumstances plus any underlying conditions present (Barman & Choudhury, 2020). This can be seen for example in cases such as K. Gomez mentioned where medical staff must consider each patient’s wishes alongside treating them equally regardless of factors such as socio-economic status or pre-existing conditions.

Beneficence meanwhile involves promoting success through enabling a certain outcome (Beauchamp & Childress, 2001), meaning that nurses must strive towards providing treatments which maximize benefits over risks associated with any specific procedures under particular settings. For instance if K. Gomez had been given advanced life support then this would have likely produced positive short term results but may not necessarily have prevented undesirable long term consequences further down the line.

Concerning nonmaleficence meanwhile this principle states that “first do no harm” making it imperative that treatment plans focus on minimizing possible hazards rather than maximizing potential gains (Rothman et al., 2018). Thus when deciding upon whether to withdraw advanced life support from K Gomez then medical teams should take into consideration what could occur if done so compared against options available focused more on mitigating effects than curing illness itself.

Finally, with autonomy self determination ensures individuals make choices for themselves whenever able without external pressures influencing these decisions (Draper et al., 2017). Thus when considering withdrawing life support from K Gomez then it became necessary to involve his parents more directly allowing them contribute towards coming up with best plan regarding course of action whilst ensuring their own wishes were respected.

Overall therefore, ethics play a pivotal part within nursing due offering practitioners both guidance when facing difficult decisions plus protection from wrong doing; helping ultimately create a system whereby everyone involved receives appropriate levels care depending on individual needs thus benefiting both nurse and patient alike.