Nursing

The Assignment is to write a 500 word essay in APA format. You are to state what the ethical dilemma was in the article, what your thoughts on the situation are, and what you think you would’ve done in that situation had you been put into it. Cite any information you use to support your argument on a works cited page.

ANSWER

Ethical Dilemma

Force-feeding is an ethical dilemma presented in the article. The healthcare providers working in prison are expected to force-feed the prisoners. Military nurses offer at least two daily nasal-gastric feedings to the detainees (Rosernberg, 2016). This act interfered with the moral ethics of the nurses. In this case, the reinstated nurse felt that the act affected his moral and professional integrity. In the process of administering this process, the nurse might cause harm to the prisoner. On the other hand, the prisoners are on hunger strike, and if allowed to continue, the prison risks loss of lives due to the hunger. An ethical dilemma emerges from the need to adhere to nursing integrity and professionalism and the call to save lives in the prison setting.

Nurses are guided by professional codes of conduct across all settings. One of these calls is to avoid any possible harm to a patient. Non-maleficence is a critical element in the healthcare sector where professionals are expected to abstain from causing harm or imposing the risk of harm to others (Motloba, 2019). A professional’s harmful actions can be deemed as morally or legally wrong, depending on the rules that surround the issue at hand. Thus, every healthcare professional must protect patients from any possible harm that might further affect their health and well-being. The Guantanamo case portrays a possibility of harm on the prisoners due to the force-feeding practice. A segment of the prisoners has resulted in a hunger strike, and the nurses are expected to feed them forcefully. However, one of the military nurses disagrees with the practice because it violated his moral duty and obligation. The nurse believes that he might harm the prisoners while administering this process and thus feels that the outcome could have an adverse implication as it tampers with the moral conscience. The dilemma comes in due to the need to protect and save lives as well.

The hunger strike situation can lead to the loss of lives as the prisoners continue with the culture. Failure to feed can affect their health and further expose them to death. Military nurses are positioned in the prisoner environment to ensure that they develop quality health and overall well-being. As Oldland et al. (2020) states, nurses play a crucial role in preventing adverse patient events and outcomes. They are expected to oversee their well-being to reduce the possibility of an adverse event occurring. In Guantanamo’s prison situation, the nurse’s decision to neglect the call to feed the prisoners can generate an outcome such as poor health status and death in some circumstances. If any of these outcomes emerge, the nurse will have failed to guarantee quality healthcare outcomes and protect human life. Thus, this case attracts an ethical dilemma where the nurse can find it had to make the best decision due to conflicting interests.

Personal Assessment

I believe that this is one of the ethical dilemmas that a nurse can face in their duty. On the one hand, it calls for harm reduction for the patient and a need to develop better patient health and protect life on the other hand. The case establishes a conflict of interest and makes it hard for the military nurse to make the best decision that benefits him and the prisoners. If I were in the situation, I would have declined to undertake the force-feeding practice as there is a high risk of complications emerging. For example, the patient can chock in the process and develop an adverse problem. I would have rejected this practice because the prisoners would, at some point, reach an optimal hunger level and terminate their strike.

References

Motloba, P. D. (2019). Non-maleficence-a disremembered moral obligation. South African Dental Journal, 74(1), 40-42.

Oldland, E., Botti, M., Hutchinson, A. M., & Redley, B. (2020). A framework of nurses’ responsibilities for quality healthcare—Exploration of content validity. Collegian, 27(2), 150-163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2019.07.007

Rosenberg, C. (2016). Navy reinstates nurse who refused to force-feed at Guantánamo. miamiherald. Retrieved 10 December 2020, from https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/guantanamo/article75398072.html.