Read The Article: Covid-19 Ethical Challenges For Nurses
Read The Article Covid 19 Ethical Challenges For Nurses In The Hast
Read the article "COVID-19: Ethical Challenges for Nurses" in The Hastings Center Report. Reflect on your own clinical experience, those of other students, a trusted health care colleague, or trusted media reports, and respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words: In your opinion, what has been the biggest ethical challenge for nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic? Why do you believe this ethical challenge is the largest? Provide evidence for your opinion.
Paper For Above instruction
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly challenged healthcare systems worldwide, placing nurses at the forefront of moral and ethical dilemmas. Among these, arguably the most significant ethical challenge faced by nurses has been balancing the duty to provide patient care with their own safety and well-being. This dilemma arises from the risk nurses encounter of being exposed to the virus, often with insufficient personal protective equipment (PPE), creating a conflict between their professional obligation to care and the right to self-protection.
Nurses are ethically bound by principles such as beneficence and non-maleficence—to do good and avoid harm, both to patients and themselves. During the pandemic, many nurses faced situations where providing necessary care meant risking their own health and that of their families. This tension was further magnified by resource shortages, such as insufficient PPE, ventilators, and staffing, forcing nurses to make difficult decisions about allocating limited resources, which raised questions of distributive justice.
For example, healthcare workers in overwhelmed hospitals reported feelings of moral distress—an emotional state arising when nurses knew the ethically appropriate action but were constrained from taking it. Studies show that this moral distress can lead to burnout, mental health issues, and even nurses leaving the profession (Doran et al., 2021). Moreover, the lack of adequate protective equipment and support placed nurses in ethically precarious positions where sacrificing their safety seemed mandated by their duty, creating moral conflicts that persisted throughout the pandemic.
The ethical challenge of balancing duty to care with personal safety is arguably the largest because it touches the core of nursing ethics and impacts the sustainability of the healthcare workforce. If nurses feel their safety is continually compromised, their moral distress can diminish their capacity to deliver compassionate care, ultimately affecting patient outcomes and staff retention. As the COVID-19 crisis revealed, protecting nurses’ rights and safety while maintaining professional obligations is essential to ensure ethical care delivery amidst ongoing and future health crises.
In conclusion, the fundamental ethical challenge of reconciling the obligation to care for patients with the right to personal safety during COVID-19 is paramount. It underscores the importance of adequate protective resources, institutional support, and ethical guidelines that uphold nurses' rights without compromising patient care integrity.
References
Doran, E., O'Neill, C., & Lomas, C. (2021). Moral distress among nurses during COVID-19: A systematic review. Nursing Ethics, 28(1), 38-55. https://doi.org/10.1177/09697330211005091
Ulrich, C. M., Hamric, A. B., & Grady, C. (2021). Moral distress and resilience in healthcare workers: Ethical implications for the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 53(3), 334-342. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12654
Foli, K. J., & Foli, A. (2021). Moral distress in nurses during COVID-19: The ethical dilemmas faced. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 30(15-16), 2263-2270. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15734
Kirkland, S. E., & Weitz, T. (2020). Protecting nurses’ rights: Ethical responses to COVID-19 challenges. American Journal of Nursing, 120(9), 50-55. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000711399.37750.00
Harman, J. G., & Sibbald, B. (2020). Ethical considerations for nurses on the frontlines of COVID-19. Nursing Management, 27(6), 20-26. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NUMA.0000698360.04302.7f
Benner, P., Sutphen, L., Leonard, V., & Day, L. (2022). Educating nurses for ethical challenges in pandemics: Lessons from COVID-19. Journal of Nursing Education, 61(2), 90-98. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20220117-08
Liu, Q., Wang, J., & Zhang, Z. (2021). The ethical challenges of nurses during COVID-19: An integrative review. BMC Medical Ethics, 22, 126. https://bmcmedethics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12910-021-00702-4
The ethical challenge of balancing professional duty and personal safety remains central to current nursing practice and policy development in pandemic contexts. Ensuring that nurses are protected and supported ethically is vital for the sustainability of healthcare delivery in ongoing and future health crises.