The topics that will be discussed in this paper will be the ethical decisions that have to be made by Dr. F and the RN in regards to disclosing information to Dr. J. Also, according to the NANDA nursing diagnosis for ethical consideration, Dr. F and the RN also have to consider if Mrs. Z has some knowledge deficits in regards to her prognosis and if due to her culture, she feels powerlessness towards her diagnosis. Ethical theories are important to justifying and relating situations in nursing. In this paper, there will be discussions relating ethical theories to nursing, as well as, ethical decision making models that will relate to the delivery of healthcare. Ethical theory is important to nursing because it provides a filter and …show more content…

Based on reasonable limits, keeping or breaking confidentiality would be circumstantial. Because of reasonable limits, Mrs. Z’s medical information has not been disclosed to her husband and family. But, if thinking from a Deontological point, telling the family would be more important for the health of Mrs. Z then respecting her wishes to keep her prognosis a secret. It is always important for a healthcare provider to respect the wishes of their patient. But if by doing so, more harm is caused to the patient, as well as individuals that are involved with the patient, keeping confidentiality is no longer relevant. But, if the individual understands that by not disclosing certain information, they will only cause harm to themselves and they understand the repercussions of their decision, keeping their confidentiality would be pertinent. When trying to resolve conflicts that happen between ethical principles, the nurse has to take into consideration which principles are being discussed and how the principles apply to the situation at hand. An ethical principle that will be in conflict if confidentiality is broken in Mrs. Z’s case is the principle of autonomy. According to the ANA, autonomy is defined as “an agreement to respect an individual’s decisions in dictating their own health care decisions (Silva & Ludwick, 1999). Mrs. Z has