Reference no: EM132514751

Assignment: What are your thoughts??

The bioethicists classified the four basic principles of health care ethics to evaluate the merits and difficulties of medical procedures. In general, for a medical practice to consider ethical, it must meet all four of these principles:

• Respect for the autonomy of the patient

• Beneficence (enabling the best for the patient)

• Nonmaleficence (avoiding harm to the patient)

• Justice

Our professional code of ethics has based on these universal ethical principles. Respect for autonomy, for instance, could mean several things and is itself dependent on some other prior purpose. Justice also has many different meanings, which are, in turn, dependent upon the underlying view of humanity one chooses. Therefore, justice involves both the capacity to maintain contracts and the capacity to give equal regard and respect for all groups and issues in any situation. It also includes restorative justice. All four principles play a vital role in the field of health care ethics and essential for the perception of the current approach to ethical review in health care.

Moreover, beneficence emphasizes preventing or removing harm or doing or promoting good. It is stated in terms of positive outcomes and often thought of as the most critical ethical principle in the health care setting. The nurses need to promote the health and welfare of the patient while respecting personal autonomy. An example of beneficence is following the nursing process to develop a plan of care agreed upon by the nurse and patient. Therefore, nonmaleficence referred to as not harm and stated in terms of negative actions. An example of the violation of the ethical principles of nonmaleficence is the nurse who intentionally administers a wrong dose of medication to a patient. The nurse must adhere to the code of ethics for nurses and understand the universal principles of biomedical to guide the professional practice of nursing.