The hospital is forming an ethics committee. Which concept should be central to that committee's function?
1. Most of the committee's work should involve short-term ethical issues.
2. The overriding concern of the committee should be protection of the hospital.
3. Members should be limited to medical staff.
4. The committee should act to provide guidelines for potential problems.
An ethical dilemma has arisen in regard to a patient who has been declared incompetent and who left no advance directive. Which model is likely to be of best use to the ethics committee reviewing the case?
1. Autonomy
2. Patient justice
3. Patient benefit
4. Social justice
A patient is prescribed medication for the treatment of cancer. The nurse is concerned that administering this medication may have a harmful effect on the patient.
Which conditions would help the nurse decide that it is ethical to administer the medication through the application of the concept of double effect? Note: Credit will be given only if all correct choices and no incorrect choices are selected.
Select all that apply.
1. The medication has been proven effective in the treatment of cancer.
2. The nurse is administering the medication to achieve treatment of the cancer.
3. The harmful effect must not occur in order for the medication to be successful in treating the cancer.
4. The benefits of using this medication are more likely to occur than are the undesired actions of the medication.
5. The patient must agree to accept the possibility of undesired effects of the medication.
The nurse makes practice decisions based upon each patient's unique characteristics, the relationship between the patient and the nurse, and the most humanistic course of action in the particular case circumstance.
Which branch of ethics does this reflect? 1. Virtual ethics
2. Duty ethics
3. Utilitarian ethics
4. Situational ethics
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