Running head: ETHICAL FRAMEWORKS IN PRACTICE

Applying Ethical Frameworks in Practice
Grand Canyon University
NRS 437 V
May 9, 2012

Applying Ethical Frameworks in Practice Patient confidentiality is part of the Nursing Code of Ethics and it is a nurses’ duty to uphold confidentiality of patient information (American Nurses Association, 2012). However, there are certain situations in which a confidentiality breach is acceptable, such as when a patient voices harm to themselves or others and certain sexually transmitted diseases STDs). The following is a breakdown of the ethical implications of a breach of confidentiality, the ethical theory, the alternatives to breaching confidentiality using the framework of
The third step is to consider factors that relate to the problem and produce alternatives to resolve the dilemma. The factors involved in the dilemma were the nurse breaching confidentiality to help the minor patient or keeping quiet about the situation and risk the patient not getting the appropriate care. An alternative would have been for the nurse to talk with the patient and explain the importance of her telling her parents in order to get treatment. The fourth step is to review and categorize all alternatives and to determine which ones are consistent and which ones are inconsistent with ones’ personal values. Allowing the patient to tell her parents herself or the nurse informing the parents are consistent with the nurses’ values. Not telling them is inconsistent. The fifth step is to predict the possible outcomes of the acceptable alternatives. The patient informing her parents would not breach confidentiality and harm the nurse patient relationship. The sixth step is to list the acceptable alternatives from most acceptable to the least acceptable. The most acceptable alternatives are the patient informing her parents or the nurse informing the parents. The least acceptable alternatives would be to not inform the parents at all and informing the school. The seventh step is to develop an action plan. If the minor insists on not informing her parents then an ethics consult should be called to