Nursing

Case: How nurses can prioritize care

The decisions nurses make to prioritize cases are essentially ethical questions about patient care and human needs.

Case: Family is resistant to palliative narcotics for a terminally ill patient.

A patient's son, who is her designated decision maker, refuses to let his terminally ill, semiconscious mother receive narcotics to manage her pain.

Would you tell this girl's parents about her sexually transmitted infection?

What should a nurse do when a 15-year-old presents with a sexually transmitted infection and doesn't want her parents to know?

Covering up for a colleague

Personal responsibility for the incompetent conduct of others is limited by the duty to protect patients' interests. Does the careless colleague clearly realize that she is failing to meet the standard of professional conduct? Has she been properly oriented to her position? The answers to these questions may well determine whether you and others hold her responsible.

What the family needs to know

Balancing HIPAA and family requests

The final word?

Must we comply with an advance directive if it appears to conflict with the patient's best interests?

When to divulge patient information

When is it appropriate to break patient confidentiality?

Texas case spotlights end-of-life quandary

Ethics in Action

Telling patients the truth.