Question

Response to Amanda    

Respond to Amanda Week 5 DQ 1 add more facts to keep the discussion going. Please remember to add at least 2 references, cover page not needed and not to be more than 250-300 words.

— The American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics includes a disposition that guides nurses to promote and advocate for the rights of patients. The promotion and advocacy for nurses should be at the core of ethical decision making that the nurse will face (ANA, 2001). The nurse, as patient advocate, plays an important role in communicating and supporting the wishes of the patient, even when the wishes of the patient go against the opinions of family or friends of the patients and medical staff members. Nurses will face ethical practice dilemmas regularly and according to the ANA should face these dilemmas with a sense of understanding on what should be done in the best interest of the individual. The ability to influence patient care outcomes centered around that patient can be influenced by the power a nurse has in their relationships with physicians and other team members (Parker, 2007). A nurse gains power through establishing positive, collegial, working relationships with physicians, other nurses, and all the members of the health care team (Parker, 2007). Productive relationships increase a nurse’s power to base care decisions on ethical principles. The DNP, as an extension of nursing relies on the same ethical principles. If a DNP possess the ethical principles of patient advocacy, they can promote the elimination of health disparities in their advanced roles.

The DNP can ethically work to eliminate health disparities by being aware of the disparities as they exist. For example, understanding a patient’s social situation can identify a disparity. For example, a homeless patient presents to the clinic to see the DNP for routine care. The DNP after learning the patient is homeless can make referrals to social worker, assistance programs, or health departments. The DNP can use ethics to advocate for the patient by providing resources to the patient that may allow them to access medications, laboratory studies, or diagnostics that are needed. The DNP must be flexible in management of health issues and find feasible ways to eliminate health disparities.

References:

American Nurses Association. (2001). Code for nurses with interpretive statements. Washington, DC: Author.

Parker, F., (2007) Ethics column: “The power of one.” Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. (13)1. Retrieved from: http://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/Columns/Ethics/Power.html

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