Ethical Dilemmas

Question 1

what are ethical dilemmas

Answer 1

situations in which a person is faced with conflicting moral or legal requirements, none of which overrides the other
- none of the available choices is absolutely acceotable from both a legal and moral or ethical perspective
3 elements:
- person must be faced with a choice or need to make a decision
- person must have more than 1 course of action available
- person recognises that all available courses of action require them to compromise on some personally had ethical standard or value

Question 2

what is the ideal situation

Answer 2

legal and ethical

Question 3

benefits of a decision making process

Answer 3

1. mechanism to allow you to practise dealing with problems before they arise
2. method of structured thinking that improves ability to respond rationally when urgent problems arise and you are under pressure
3. means of identifying the values involved in your decision making
4. means of identifying areas of certainty and uncertainty
5. 5. basis for your defence in retrospect
6. analysis undertaken of what might go wrong before an event
7. allows inclusion of all aspects- clinical, legal and ethical

Question 4

what are the features of a good decision making process

Answer 4

• systematic structure, break into manageable chunks, work through it systematically
• rational reasoning
• value based reasoning
• recorded decisions

Question 5

how is professional judgement used in ethical dilemmas

Answer 5

• using knowledge and experience along with critical reasoning to make informed professional decisions
• takes into acoount- law, ethics, relevant standards and guidelines

Question 6

describe the process of using professional judgement

Answer 6

1. identify the ethical dilemma or professional issue
2. gather relevant information
3. identify the possible options
4. weigh up the benefits and risks of each option
5. choose an option
6. record

Question 7

what should be recorded

Answer 7

minimum requirements:
- date and time of incident
- date and time of record
- name of all involved
- exact details of events that occurred
- include all relevant information
-may be necessary to make a record in pts PMR, back of prescription register or intervention record bok