Those nurses who work with chronically ill patients need to pay much attention to these patients’ autonomy, desire, and will. Therefore, the most effective organizational environment should include many opportunities for respecting patients’ interests, views regarding their disease, and independence. In spite of the fact that all patients’ rights should be addressed in healthcare settings, there are also situations when some principles or rights are not met. For example, the right to make decisions regarding the care plan and to refuse the treatment options that can be recommended by a physician is often violated or ignored (Borysowski et al., 2020). The problem is that medical professionals can refer to their authority when interacting with patients, making them adopt recommended treatment options. This situation is typical because individuals can lack the required information on all advantages and disadvantages of the proposed variants.
Nurses can apply specific strategies for the purpose of guaranteeing that this right of a patient is addressed. The main strategy is strict adherence to the code of ethics with a focus on respecting patients’ will and autonomy (Butts & Rich, 2016). It is critical to persuade patients that their decisions are respected, and they have the right to choose between proposed options. The problem is that there are situations when physicians do not inform individuals about available options because of some reasons, and the task of a registered nurse is to protect patients’ interests (Pozgar, 2016). Nurses can provide patients with additional information after physicians’ consultation and educate them on prescriptions and a variety of treatment options. In this case, the nurse can act as an advocate for clients to ensure that their rights are not ignored.
References
Borysowski, J., Ehni, H. J., & Górski, A. (2020). Ethics codes and medical decision making. Patient Education and Counseling, 1, 1-12.
Butts, J. B., & Rich, K. L. (2016). Nursing ethics: Across the curriculum and into practice (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Pozgar, G. D. (2016). Legal and ethical issues for health professionals (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.