Ethical Decision Making

7/17/2019 Ethical Decision Making

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Ethical Decision Making



We constantly make decisons

• Where to go to college

• Which job to accept

• Whether to marry or not (ehehehehe)

• What to have for lunch• What to wear



Decisions may be routine,

others call for moredeliberation, and others are notas clearcut as others!



Moral " Ethical #roblems



Moral $ncertainty

• We sense that there is a moral problem, but are notsure of the morally correct action!

• We are unsure what the moral principles or valuesapply

• We are unable to de%ne the moral problems





Moral" Ethical Dilemma

• When a di&cult problem seems to have no satisfactorysolution or when all solutions to a problem appear tohave to be e'ually favorable

• onicting moral claims

• Must be careful to di*erentiate from practical dilemmas





#ractical Dilemmas

• Moral claims compete with nonmoral claims!

• +onmoral claims can be often be identi%ed as claims ofselfinterest

•

Moral claims have greater weight than nonmoral claims



Moral Distress

• ituations that present moral problems which seems tohave clear solutions, yet they are unable to follow theirmoral beliefs because of institutional or otherrestraints!

• -iolation of personal moral value and fails to ful%llperceived responsibility

• Will undermine integrity

• .esults to most burnout

•

an erode one/s values and a*ect con%dence and selfesteem





Moral 0utrage

• hares feelings of powerlessness with moral distress

• 0ne do not participate in the act that is considered tobe immoral, do not believe they are responsible forwrong, but perceive that they are powerless to prevent

it!

• .esults to whistleblowing





Making decisions



+ursing #rocess

• #roblem identi%cation based on assessment of data

• Development of a plan of care, guided by desiredoutcomes

•

1mplementation of interventions• Evaluation of outcomes

• .evision of the plan over time



cienti%c #rocess and Ethical DecisionMaking

• 0bservation

• 2ypothesis

• 3aw

•

4heory

• 5ssessed ethical dilemma

• .ule

• #rinciple

•

4heory



Emotions and Ethical Decisions



5 6uide to Ethical Decision Making



4he guideline presented

provides a framework thatre'uires an ongoing evaluationand assimilation of information



5 couple is pregnant with their

second child after numerousunsuccessful attempts witharti%cial insemination! During aroutine ultrasound at 78 weeksgestation, the physiciandiscovers that the fetus isanencephalic! 4he life

e9pectancy of an anencephalicbaby is only a few days toweeks after birth!



6ather Data and 1dentify onicting Morallaims

• What makes this situation an ethical problem: 5rethere conicting obligations, duties, principles, rights,loyalties, values or beliefs:

• What are issues:

• What facts seem most important:

• What emotions have an impact:

• What are the gaps in information at this time:



1dentify ;ey #articipants

• Who is legitimately empowered to make this decision:

• Who is a*ected and how:

• What is the level of competence of the person most

a*ected in relation to the decision to be made:• What are the rights, duties, authority, conte9t andcapabilities of participants:



Determine Moral #erspective and #hase ofMoral Development of ;ey #articipants

• Do participants think in terms of duties or rights:

• Do the parties involved e9hibit similar or di*erent moralperspectives:

•

Where is the common ground: 4he di*erences• What principles are important to each person involved:

• What emotions are evident within the interaction andwith each person involved:

• What is the level of moral development of the

participants



Determine Desired 0utcomes

• 2ow does each party describe the circumstances of theoutcome:

• What are the conse'uences of the desired outcomes:

• What outcomes are unacceptable to one or allinvolved:



1dentify 0ptions

• What options emerge through the assessment process:

• 2ow do the alternatives %t the lifestyle and values ofthe person(s) involved:

• What are legal considerations of the various options:

• What are alternatives are unacceptable to one or allinvolved:

• 2ow are alternatives weighed, ranked and prioriti<ed:



5ct on the hoice

• =e empowered to make a di&cult decision!

• 6ive yourself permission to set aside less acceptablealternatives!

• =e attentive to the emotions involved in the process



Evaluate 0utcomes of 5ction

• 2as the ethical dilemma been resolved:

• 2ave other dilemmas emerged related to the action:

• 2ow has the process a*ected those involved:

•

5re further actions re'uired:



Documents

Ethical Decision Making