Solving An Ethical Dilemma: Exemplar Essay To Follow

Ethical dilemmas abound in various situations and contexts. In the healthcare setting, ethical issues continue to persist and the ability of healthcare practitioners to exercise ethical jurisdiction would assist in the delivery of high quality patient care. As a nurse practitioner who has just finished my shift and is just about to grab my things, a situation where a patient begs for one final request before one leaves should not have been difficult to comply. An ethical problem ensues when the scenario presents having conceded to an appointment within an hour which could not be missed. As such, the ethical problem is as follows: (1) would I hear the patient’s request, given that the request could take 30 seconds or 30 minutes of my time? (2) If I hear the request, I could miss my appointment which would commence within an hour’s time and present negative repercussions. Given the scenario, the following courses of action are deemed to be open.
The first alternative is to hear the patient’s request. As a nurse by profession, my priority is to uphold the principle that patients come first. I believe hearing the request would only take a matter of minutes. If the request entails addressing the patient’s need, I could already endorse the needed intervention to the nurse on duty. Otherwise, if the patient requires me to perform the tasks being sought, I could determine how much time is needed to comply. If it would take considerable amount of time that would compromise my meeting the previously scheduled appointment, I could honestly tell the patient that I will endorse the request to the nurse on duty or attempt to call the person who I have an appointment with and beg to reschedule at a later time frame, say 2 hours from now.
The dilemma persists if the patient really wants me to comply with the request and it would take excessive amounts of time to complete the task. It is clear that I would definitely be missing the appointment if I agreed to the patient’s request. Still, I can solve the problem by contacting the person I have an appointment with and explain the urgency of the matter. I can request for the appointment to be re-scheduled at a later time frame or in another more convenient date.
Another alternative is to honestly say to the patient that I have an important appointment in an hour’s time and respectfully inform the patient that he or she would be endorsed to the current nurse on duty. However, I will still hear that patient’s request for proper endorsement. I believe that this action still falls within the ethical realm since honesty is really the best policy. Furthermore, I am not being remiss in my role and responsibilities as a nurse since at the time of the request, I am already finished in my shift and another nurse already took the duty to attend to the needs of the patients.
In retrospect, the second alternative is actually believed as the most viable course of action that addresses both the patient’s needs as well as my previously scheduled appointment. I was able to hear out the patient’s request, and by virtue of proper protocol, I endorsed the request to the current nurse on duty who now has the obligation to address the needs of the patient. As such, I have solved the ethical dilemma without compromising the important appointment which I could not miss.