CHAPTER 6 VALUES, ETHICS, AND ADVOCACY 31
Copyright © 2011 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Study Guide for Fundamentals of Nursing:f. Ethical valuing:g.Transformative ethical leadership:5.Describe how you, as a nurse, would act as an
advocate for the following patients:
a.An infant born addicted to crack cocaine
whose mother wants to take him home:b.A 12-year-old girl who seeks a pregnancy
test at a Planned Parenthood clinic without
her parents’ knowledge:c. A 15-year-old girl who is anorexic and who
refuses to eat anything during her hospital
stay:d.A 28-year-old man, who contracted AIDS
from an infected male partner, and who
tells you that the other nurses have been
avoiding him:e.A 48-year-old mother with emphysema
who refuses to quit smoking:f. A 78-year-old woman in a nursing home
who is dying of cancer and asks you to help
her “end the pain” through assisted suicide:6.List the qualities you possess that you feel are
most important in developing your own
personal code of ethics:7.Use the five-step model of ethical decision
making listed in your text to resolve the
following moral distress: You believe that a
homeless patient, diagnosed with high blood
pressure, needs a psychological work-up. She
appears confused and unable to care for herself
or manage her medication. She is alternately
withdrawn and combative. You suspect she
may have early Alzheimer’s disease. Your supe-
riors insist she be discharged without further
treatment, and you are told there is no room
for her on the psychiatric ward.
a.Assess the situation:b.Diagnose the ethical problem:c. Plan:d.Implement your decision:e.Evaluate your decision:8.Give an example of an ethical problem that
may occur between the following healthcare
personnel, patients, and institutions.
a.Nurse/patient:b.Nurse/nurse:c. Nurse/physician:d.Nurse/institution:APPLYING YOUR KNOWLEDGE
CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
1.Describe how you would respond in an ethical
manner to the requests of the following patients:
a.A patient with end-stage pancreatic cancer
confesses to you that the only relief he
can get from his pain is from smoking
marijuana. He asks you to look the other
way while he lights up a joint.LWBK696-C06_p27-32.qxd 9/2/10 9:19 AM Page 31 Aptara Inc