class 2 p2

Study Notes

Ethical dilemmas involve choosing a course of action among multiple alternatives with various consequences, creating uncertainty about the best choice.
This complexity arises from interpersonal and contextual factors. The "best" alternative aligns with community ethical norms and moral values. There isn't always one right and one wrong.
Ethical dilemmas involve conflicts between moral values/principles, compromise well-being, communication difficulties, and create challenges for healthcare teams and patients/families.

Normative ethics includes virtue ethics, utilitarianism, deontology, and principlism. Other paradigms include narrative ethics, relational ethics, casuistry, interpretivism, feminist ethics, and the ethics of care.
Ethical decision-making tools & frameworks: IDEA framework, Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) Code of Ethics, Storch Model, Community Ethics Toolkit, OIIQ Ethics self-study guide.

A three-step process: Information & Identification, Clarification & Evaluation, Action & Review. It considers professional codes of ethics, social expectations, values/beliefs, value conflicts, legal requirements, a range of actions, and anticipated consequences.

Negative feelings arising from knowing the correct action but being unable to act due to constraints. It's not moral uncertainty (lack of knowing the correct action) or simple emotional distress.
It reflects professional conscience encountering barriers to ethical practice and indicates environmental problems. It's not a sign of personal weakness.

Moral agency: Capacity for deliberate morally relevant actions; all nurses are moral agents.
Moral courage: Expression of moral agency.
Moral resilience: Capacity to sustain or restore integrity despite moral complexity or setbacks; involves resistance and system improvement.
Moral community: A workplace where shared values guide ethical action, and individuals feel safe to be heard; coherence between public values and lived reality is crucial.