Making difficult choices is a huge part of nursing. Nurses support patients with medication and are supposed to decide right or wrong. Sometimes, they have to face situations where they need to consider the betterment of the patients, follow the policy, and abide by what they feel is correct.

This guide will examine the difficult choices faced by nurses and give ideas on how they can handle tricky situations. Each choice is different and can be difficult because it might have many rules.

This guide provides help with nursing dissertation topics and nurses who want to get better at making good choices. It shows real-life examples of hard choices nurses face. Looking at each example, you can learn how nurses make caring and smart daily decisions.

Top 4 Moral Nursing Dilemmas in Patient Care

The following is a list of the four most common dilemmas in nursing. Knowing about these tough choices helps nurses take better care of people by thinking about what’s right and following medical rules.

1. What the Patient Wants vs. What’s Best for Them

Sometimes, nurses must choose between what patients want and what is good for them. Patients can make choices concerning their lives even though the decisions may not be those suggested by doctors. Nurses also want to do what is best for the patient’s health. When these two ideas do not match, nurses will find it hard to decide what to do. They have to listen and care while thinking about the risks.

Example: A 72-year-old person with a severe heart problem says no to surgery that could make them live longer. They know the good and bad things about the surgery, but they would instead not go through it and just enjoy their time. The doctors and nurses know the surgery could help them live longer, so the nurse has to decide if they should ask the patient to think again or respect what they want.

Approach: In this case, the nurse should ensure the patient knows all their choices, risks, and what else they can do. The nurse might want to help save the patient’s life, but it’s important not to push them. The nurse should talk kindly, ensuring the patient feels supported in their choice. The most important thing is understanding what the patient wants and help them know all their options without forcing them to pick one.

2. Keeping Secrets vs. Stopping Harm

Nurses have to keep patient secrets, but this can be tricky when someone might get hurt. Nurses should protect what the patient tells them, but sometimes, not sharing that information could hurt others. Nurses also need to help with other duties and may not get the time they need to work on their careers. That is where support like math homework help and dissertation help is needed.

Example: A nurse is taking care of a patient who has a sickness. The patient can pass it on to others, but the patient doesn’t want to tell their husband or wife. The patient tells the nurse to keep it a secret. The nurse is worried because the sickness could hurt the spouse. This is a problem nurses face when keeping a secret that might hurt someone else.

Approach: The nurse should first talk kindly to the patient and explain why telling their husband or wife is essential. The nurse should share the facts about how the sickness could hurt them without making the patient feel bad. If the patient still says no, the nurse should ask for help from other doctors or nurses who know about the rules and what is right. Some laws say when to tell others to keep people safe in some places, so the nurse needs to know about these rules, too.

3. Sharing Resources and Being Fair

In hospitals, time, tools, and people can be limited, making fairness challenging. Nurses often have to decide how to share these things, even when it’s tough. They need to ensure everyone gets care, even when it’s hard to help everyone the same way. Nurses have to make quick, fair decisions while also dealing with how hard these choices can be.

Example: Imagine two people coming to the hospital at the same time. One has bad chest pain, and the other has a broken arm. Both require urgent assistance, yet only the nurse is around. Though such chest pain may indicate a heart attack, the person with the fractured arm is in great pain. The nurse has to decide the order in which he or she will assist either and weigh that against waiting, which could exacerbate either condition.

Approach: In this case, the nurse should first help the person with chest pain because it could be severe. The nurse should tell the person with the broken arm what’s happening and that they will get help soon. The nurse needs to work with other staff when possible to ensure both people get care. Deciding who to help first can be hard, but choosing based on how serious the problem is helps the nurse make the right choice.

4. Care at the End of Life and Euthanasia

Caring for people at the end of their life can be hard for nurses. Sometimes, patients want to stop treatments that keep them alive. Nurses must consider what the patient wants while caring for their family, who might feel upset. The nurse’s job is to help the patient have a peaceful end, even when the family might have different feelings about it. Nurses are there to give both medical care and comfort during these tough times.

Example: A 50-year-old person with a serious illness is very sick and wants to stop all treatments to feel better. Their family is sad and wants the nurse to keep trying to help them live longer. The nurse knows that the patient wants to be comfortable and is in a tough spot because they want to respect the patient’s choice while helping the family understand.

Approach: The nurse should help the patient and their family talk kindly about what the patient wants. The nurse must support the patient’s right to choose their care. The nurse can also help the family understand and accept the patient’s decisions. Bringing in a team that specializes in comfort care can give more help and advice.

Final Thoughts

Making the right choices gets easier with practice and thinking about what happened. This guide helps nurses understand the important ideas they need to know, which can make tough decisions a little easier. For those who want to learn more or need help with nursing dissertation topics, looking at these challenges can give helpful ideas for school and real-life nursing.