Current Ethical Issues in Nursing Practice in Canada

The ethical issues in nursing practice in Canada go beyond the dramatic current ethical issues normally portrayed by the media. The nurse may experience an ethical dilemma any time two or more ethical principles cannot be met.

Nursing practice in Canada requires adherence to the ethical code for the nursing profession.

The question of whether of not to "pull the plug" on life support might make for good drama on television but in fact it is not a situation encountered by the majority of nurses. In these types of situations, there are ethical committees and procedures to follow that require a team approach.

In the context of nursing practice in Canada a nurse would never be involved in making such a decision independently.

Current ethical issues in nursing practice encountered by most nurses are driven by the social forces of the Canadian society as well as the constantly evolving nature of health care and the professional role of the nurse in the Canadian health care system.

Examples include:

Cultural Diversity

A nurse is required to practice with cultural competence and respect cultural diversity, but how is the individual nurse to respond when those practices conflict with the ethical values of the nursing profession?

Not all cultures embrace the ethical value of autonomy or veracity. Indeed in some families the cultural value is to keep information from the patient and the family makes all the decisions. As a cultural norm this is a comfortable expectation by the family and patient alike.

In Canada however, this expectation places the nurse in an ethical dilemma because the nurse cannot uphold the ethical principles of confidentiality and autonomy at the same time in order to practice within the cultural expectation of the family group.

Issues of Consent and Capacity

The aging population in Canada has increased the numbers of the population that may not have the capacity to make informed choices and consent to care. Without an incompetency declaration how will a nurse know whether the individual is competent to give consent to nursing procedures at any given time?

Patients Who are Non-Compliant

Some patients do not comply with treatment measures and end up being treated repeatedly for the same problem with multiple hospital admissions. It may become increasingly difficult for an nurse to deliver non-judgmental care if he or she holds a personal value that suggests the client is not deserving of any more service at the taxpayers expense because their health challenges are self induced.

These are just examples of some of the current ethical issues in nursing practice. It is not an exhaustive list of the kinds of nursing situations that require nurses to think and act ethically but these examples do illustrate how important it is for nurses to have a good foundation in ethical decision making and ethical theory.

The Canadian Registered Nurse Exam tests your knowledge of current ethical issues in nursing practice in Canada by describing situations that present an ethical dilemma or conflict and presenting various options for the correct nursing action in those circumstances.

The correct answer will be the one that shows the nurse responding to the situation using principles and values of the nursing code of ethics for nursing practice in Canada.

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Here is a list of all the the pages on this website (including this one) that contain more specific information about ethics in nursing.

Nursing Ethics in Canada - an introduction to the regulations that require ethical nursing practice in Canada.

What is the Nursing Code of Ethics for nursing practice in Canada?

The What's and Why's of an Ethical Code for Nursing Practice

Ethical Theories - a brief explanation of the three classifications of ethical theories used most often by nurses

What is an Ethical Dilemma in Nursing Practice? - a description of the ethical principles used in moral reasoning in nursing practice.

Ethical Decision Making in Nursing Practice - the Influence of Personal and Professional Values

Ethical Issues in Nursing Practice in Canada - What are Some of the Current Ethical Issues in Nursing?

The requirement for Ethics in Nursing Curriculum in Canada

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