Question
| Assignment: Application: Taking a Stand Effective leaders have a high degree of self-awareness and know how to leverage their strengths in the workplace. Assessments are a valuable tool that professionals can use to learn more about themselves and consider how their temperament and preferences influence their interactions with others. As you engage in this learning process, it is important to remember that everyone—regardless of temperament type or related preferences—experiences some challenges with regard to leadership. The key to success is being able to recognize and leverage your own strengths while honoring differences among your colleagues. At some point in your leadership career, you will encounter an ethical or moral dilemma that requires you to take a stand and defend your position. For this Assignment, you evaluate an issue and consider how you could act as a moral agent or advocate, facilitating the resolution of the issue for a positive outcome. To prepare: Consider the examples of leadership demonstrated in this week’s media presentation and the other Learning Resources. To further your self-knowledge, you are required to complete the Kiersey Temperament as indicated in this week’s Learning Resources. Consider your leadership style, including your strengths for leading others and include your results from Kiersey Temperament Sorter to describe potential challenges related to your leadership style. Mentally survey your work environment, or one with which you are familiar, and identify a timely issue/dilemma that requires you to perform the leadership role of moral agent or advocate to improve a situation (e.g., speaking or acting on behalf of a vulnerable patient, the need for appropriate staffing, a colleague being treated unfairly). What ethical, moral, or legal skills, dispositions, and/or strategies would help you resolve this dilemma? Define the differences between ethical, moral, and legal leadership. Finally, consider the values and principles that guide the nursing profession; the organization’s mission, vision, and values; the leadership and management competencies addressed in this course; and your own values and reasons for entering the profession. What motivation do you see for taking a stand on an important issue even when it is difficult to do so? To complete: By Day 7 Write a 4 to 5 page paper (page count does not include title and reference page) that addresses the following: Introduce the conceptual frameworks of the ethical constructs of ethics, moral, or legal standards and the purpose of the paper. Consider an ethical, moral, or legal dilemma that you have encountered in your work environment and describe it. Analyze the moral, ethical, and legal implications utilized in this situation. Describe your role as a moral agent or advocate for this specific issue. Consider your leadership styles identified by your self-assessment and determine if they act as a barrier or facilitation during this dilemma. The School of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements. Writer- Work environment should be a mental health facility in georgia. |
Answer
Taking a Stand
Contents
Introduction
Ethics is basically a well-laid out set of standards that dictate how individuals ought to act when faced with different situations. It consolidates a coherent framework for behavior that influences the decision-making process and provides reasons as to why we make those decisions. According to Marquis and Houston (2015), virtuous organizational leadership arises from integrating a rational model that is based on appropriate decision-making, reassuring systems and procedures, and a conducive environment that tolerates and accommodates the views and perception of other professionals. However, it should be noted that the decisions made by an individual in any line of work are purely grounded on his/her identity and the values that are pertinent. Healthcare providers and agencies have specific moral obligations that stem from their respective roles in advancing quality services to people to improve their quality of life. Every situation that these health practitioners encounter is paved with uncertainties and risks which ultimately challenge their ethical values. This paper will systematically address a dilemma that I faced as a healthcare professional as I worked at the Lakeland Depression Treatment Center in Atlanta, Georgia. It will also analyze the moral, ethical, and legal implications presented by the situation and the strategies that I took as an amoral agent to advocate for the issue. Finally, I will incorporate my leadership style and explain how it acted as a facilitator for this predicament.
Synopsis of the Dilemma
During one of my daily routine rounds of the mental patients admitted at the Lakeland Center,I came across a young boy, aged 16 who seemed really disturbed. A close look at him revealed that he barely caught sleep since he exhibited signs of drowsiness and overall fatigue. I approached him to try and conduct a thorough check-up on him but that is when things took a turn for the worst. He immediately grabbed my hair and pulled me towards him, yelling at the top of his voice. Fortunately, some nurses came to my rescue and administered sedatives that calmed him. I was rather distraught by this young boy’s case and I really wanted to help him. However, I came to learn later that the hospital management wanted to discharge him to thwart out any possibility of incurring legal liabilities from a lawsuit that the parents were threatening to file. Apparently, the boy’s parents felt that the hospital had failed to diagnose their kid with a mental illness and were afraid that he would eventually hurt himself should he be discharged. I stepped in and decided to take up his case.
Moral implications
As a healthcare professional who has sworn an oath to serve patients diligently, it would be wrong to dismiss such a patient without conducting more tests and analyses to determine what type of illness he has.Furthermore, I hold the virtues of respect, compassion and accountability very highly. From a practical standpoint, it is very crucial that all healthcare practitioners treat every patient with dignity and courtesy and act with concern for his/her welfare. The ethic-of-care is not a set of principles per se but is rather a manner of extending practices that demand specific moral qualities to ensure that appropriate steps and actions are taken (Tronto, 1994). It is imperative to take responsibility for all the actions we commit to. Much to it, the hospital has a mission of providing excellent healthcare for all people and communities it serves devoid of biases and prejudices. Terminating the treatment for this patient would have gone against both my principles and those of the hospital, coupled together with its vision and objectives.
Ethical Implications
The above case presented quite a number of ethical consequences. Further test enabled me to diagnose the child with a severe case of schizophrenia combined with extreme paranoia. As a doctor, I am inclined to conform to the principle of beneficence which generally involves doing that which is in the best interest of the patient. As such, I decided to withhold information regarding thepsychodynamics and the emotional needs from the patient to avoid provoking him. This is primarily because sharing such information with him would have jeopardized his treatment by increasing the risk of him declining adequate care. Nevertheless, my decision conflicted with the principle of autonomy. Ethically, concealing such information disrespects the patient’s right to autonomy and could easily be viewed as lying with intent (Astalos, 2015; Beauchamp& Childress, 1994).
Legal Implications
Terminating the above case runs the risk of incurring legal liabilities in terms of lawsuits. In essence, all health practitioners are obligated not to put the patient in harm’s way regardless of the situation at hand. This is the basis that sets the guideline for the non-maleficence principle. Owing to this revelation, the parents of the patient were well in their limits to file a legal lawsuit against wrongful termination of treatment of their son. This is because the health practice is a legally-binding profession that is subject to evaluation by the law. In any case, it is illegal to deny treatment to a patient simply because his/her case has proven to be a daunting task that requires extra resources. Justice dictates that all medical resources should be distributed to all patients equitably.
Moral Agency
The concept of moral agency is intertwined with taking risks. Nurses have a fundamental commitment to advancing care to patients and advocating for their rights even in compromising situations. This serves as a tool for defining a healthy nurse-client relationship. In relation to this issue, I decided to challenge the decision of the management to safeguard the rights and interests of the patient.It is quite evident that his safety would have been jeopardized by the management had he been released without receiving adequate treatment. Maintaining competence and accepting responsibility is at the core of moral agency (Martin, 2014). My decision is backed up by the authoritarian leadership style. This is because this philosophy is bent on reinforcing discipline and upholding the virtues of dignity and work ethics particularly when achieving organizational goals is paramount (Cianci et al., 2014). This approach also sets a good example that is worth emulating to my subordinates.
My temperament results indicated that I am a guardian. This means that I am organized and I tend to focus more on my duties and responsibilities. Furthermore, I always aim at utilizing my skills optimally to help those in need. This leadership style largely facilitated my decision to take up this case because I could not bear losing a patient due to negligence and fear. In this profession, I am motivated by the urge to help people live their live fully without health complications and suffering. In my capacity, I work towards extending quality care to all my patients to yield satisfaction. Patient satisfaction is directly congruent to quality improvement. Thus I always strive to work towards doing what is best for my patients in line with the organizational goals and objectives.
Conclusion
Making ethically-driven decisions can be a challenging task especially where one is required to challenge the status quo. Similarly, it requires one to take into perspective the sensitivity of the ethical, legal and moral implications that may arise because of addressing different situations. All in all, having a sound ethical framework serves as powerful tool and makes the decision-making process a little bit easier in the long-run. More importantly, upholding competency and respect is vital in achieving quality improvement and patient satisfaction.
References
Astalos Chism, L. (2015). The DNP Graduate as Ethical Consultant. The Doctor of Nursing Practice, 203.
Beauchamp, T. L., & Childress, J. F. (1994). Principles of Biomedical Ethics Oxford University Press New York Google Scholar.
Cianci, A. M., Hannah, S. T., Roberts, R. P., & Tsakumis, G. T. (2014). The effects of authentic leadership on followers’ ethical decision-making in the face of temptation: An experimental study. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(3), 581-594.
Marquis, B. L., & Huston, C. J. (2015). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application (8th Ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
Martin, M. B. (2014). Transcultural advocacy and policy in the workplace: implications for nurses in professional development. Journal for nurses in professional development, 30(1), 29-33.
Tronto, J. C. (1994). Moral boundaries: A political argument for the ethic of care. New York: Routledge, Chapman, and Hall.
