Controversial Topics in Nursing

Controversial Topics in Nursing

Nursing is a constantly evolving field that’s built on compassion and care. However, it is surrounded by various controversial topics and issues. These debatable issues usually arise at the intersection of patient care, medical responsibilities, and social values. Understanding these topics is essential for nursing students to navigate and discuss them within the healthcare community and the general public. This blog discusses controversial issues in nursing and their impact on healthcare. These topics should help you come up with an impactful  piece of work when writing a nursing research project.  They will also  be useful to you for general knowledge in your practice as a nurse.

 

Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing

The American Nurses Association’s code of ethics provides nurses with guidance on how to navigate controversial issues and ethical dilemmas. It is essential for nursing students and practitioners to fully understand these codes of ethics as they will be of importance when they come across complex situations that require ethical decisions.

 

The impact of Nursing Ethical Principles on controversial issues

The nursing ethical framework is founded on four major ethics in nursing which include, beneficence, autonomy, non-maleficence, and justice. Let us discuss each principle and its implications on controversial topics in nursing;

• Autonomy

This is the patient’s right to make decisions concerning their health irrespective of whether the decisions conflict with the nurse’s recommendations on what is best for them. This principle implicates the controversial issue of the end of life and decision-making. This involves establishing a balance between medical, set ethics, and personal preferences. For example, a patient with stage 4 cancer may refuse life-prolonging treatment while nurses may feel obliged to offer the treatment.

• Beneficence

This is a principle in the nursing ethics framework that requires acting in the best interest of the patient. One of the ethical dilemmas that intersect with this principle is the issue of medical futility and resource allocation.  Medical futility refers to the decision to withdraw treatment since continuation may be potentially harmful to the patient whereas limited resource allocation may force nurses to make difficult decisions on how to allocate medical care among patients, limiting their ability to provide the best care.

• Non-maleficence

This is an ethical principle in healthcare that means “do no harm”, it strictly requires medical practitioners not to cause any harm to patients. This principle challenges the occurrence of medical errors and disclosures. Whether medical errors result in harm or not they bleach the principle of non-maleficence. For example, a nurse evaluates the risk of falling and takes the necessary preventive measures by ensuring bed alarms are working and educating the family on the strategies to prevent a fall. All these measures are to ensure that no harm occurs to the patient.

• Justice

This ethical principle in nursing states that all patient must be treated with fairness and equality regardless of their race, social status, ethnicity or other factor whatsoever. The justice principle addresses several controversial issues in nursing by ensuring that through informed consent and patient autonomy, all patients are well informed on their medical condition, treatment, risks, and benefits of medical procedures and they provide consent. It also ensures that medical practitioners respect diversity and protect minority populations.

Let us now explore some of the controversial topics in ethical dilemmas;

• Code of ethics on withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment.
• Nurses’ ethical considerations and perspectives on do-not-resuscitate orders (DNR).
• Ethical dilemmas surrounding physician-assisted suicide.
• Informed consent and patient autonomy in pediatrics.
• Informed consent in end-of-life care.
• Advanced directives and their roles in patient autonomy.
• Relevance of informed consent in nursing.
• Nurses’ role in addressing medical futility.
• Ways to cope with distress from medical futile situations.
• Strategies for creating ethical and fair allocation of resources in healthcare.
• Legal implications of medical errors on medical practitioners.
• Laws set to protect medical practitioners who disclose medical errors.
• Role of nursing training in promoting transparency and accountability in healthcare.

Scope of practice and nursing autonomy

With each state having different regulations in nursing practice, nursing students should familiarize themselves with their responsibilities and limitations. It is evident that the nursing field is fast evolving and controversial issues and topics around the scope of practice and nursing autonomy are increasing. Let us explore examples of controversial topics in this field of study in nursing include;

• Scope of nursing practice across different states.
• Nurses’ impact on establishing cost-effective healthcare.
• Implications of nurses’ expanded roles and responsibilities on healthcare costs.
• Complexities surrounding delegating nursing tasks to unlicensed personnel.
• Exploring the scope of practice prescriptive authority.
• How to effectively promote communication between nurses and physicians.
• Nurses’ role in promoting preventive care.
• Emerging roles and practices in nursing.
• Overlapping roles between nurses and other healthcare professionals.
• Collaboration of nurses and doctors in pediatrics.
• Benefits and challenges of nurse-led clinics.

If you are looking at these controversial topics with the aim of working on a nursing research project, you may also find it useful to read through our guide on ‘substitutes of because of’. This  guide will  give you some vital tips on how to make your  written work more impactful.

Cultural competency skills and diversity in Nursing

Cultural competency skills and diversity in nursing revolve around understanding the different cultural backgrounds and offering healthcare that aligns with the practices. Nursing students must have cultural competency skills to be able to address any issues that may require their understanding or clarification. Topics to explore include;

• Health disparities surrounding diverse populations.
• Strategies to establish effective communication in culturally sensitive care.
• Methods of addressing discrimination in nursing practice.
• Role of nursing in promoting an all-inclusive healthcare system.
• Implications of implicit bias in nursing leadership.
• Role of nursing education in helping nurses recognize and overcome personal implicit biases.
• Why is cultural sensitivity care in nursing practice important?
• Implications of nurse shortage in healthcare.
• The role of inclusion and diversity in nursing practice.
• Role of nursing research in promoting inclusion and diversity
• Establishing a balance between art and science in nursing practice.

 

Conclusion

Controversial topics help nursing students to establish a firm ethical foundation to guide them in their practice.  It also gives them a platform to exercise their problem-solving ability when faced with complex issues. In this blog, we have provided you with some of the controversial topics in nursing, students can study them further to equip themselves with the knowledge, clarity, and skills they need to tackle future challenges in their practice.