Ethics Of Safe Injection Sites Assignment

For this discussion, you will explore a current social health issue from an ethical, nursing perspective. Using your knowledge of the ANA’s Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements (ANACOE), examine the implementation of safe injection sites (or overdose prevention sites/services). Describe the provisions of the ANACOE that may be used to support and/or discourage the implementation of safe injection sites. How might the social policy of legalizing safe injection sites in the United States impact health care and the ethical role of the nurse?

Remember that all posts must include professional references; review the assignment instructions to determine how many for each.

You also need to include an intro and conclusion in your discussion board.

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Vicki D. Lachman, PhD, APRN, MBE, FAAN, is Clinical Professor, and Director, Innovation and Intra/Entrepreneurship in Advanced Practice Nursing, Drexel University, College of Nursing and Health Professions, Philadelphia, PA.

Applying the Ethics of Care to Your Nursing Practice

“I feel the capacity to care is the thing which gives life its deepest significance.” Pablo Casals (2000)

U se of the theory of care ethics is discussed to help nurses determine if they are applying this theory effectively in their practice. After a basic defini-

tion of caring, including Watson’s caring theory, the evo- lution of the theory of ethics of care will be delineated briefly. A case will be used to illustrate Tronto’s (1993) four phases of caring and her four elements of care.

Definition of Caring Caring and nursing are so intertwined that nursing

always appeared on the same page in a Google search for the definition of caring. Caring is “a feeling and exhibit- ing concern and empathy for others; showing or having compassion” (The Free Dictionary, 2002, para. 2). As these definitions show, caring is a feeling that also requires an action.

Dr. Jean Watson’s caring theory is well known in nurs- ing. The three major elements of her theory are the cara- tive factors, the transpersonal caring relationship, and the caring occasion/caring moment (Watson, 2001). Her car- ative factors endeavor to “honor the human dimensions of nursing’s work and the inner life world and subjective experiences of the people we serve” (Watson, 1997, p. 50). Two examples of these carative factors, which were later changed to caritas factors in 2001, in clinical practice are “developing and sustaining a helping-trusting, authentic caring relationship” and “being present to, and support- ive of, the expression of positive and negative feelings as a connection with deeper spirit of self and the one-being- cared-for” (Watson, 2001, p. 347). To build this trusting, caring relationship with the patient, the nurse must be self-aware of any judgmental feelings or feelings that could foster his or her crossing boundaries into intimacy. Caring requires the nurse to have a deep connection to the spirit within the self and to the spirit within the patient. Watson’s caring model requires the nurse to look at the uniqueness of the individual and go to all extents possible to preserve the patient’s dignity. The second ele- ment, the transpersonal caring relationship, describes the

nurse’s caring consciousness and moral commitment to make an intentional connection with the patient. The third element, caring occasion/caring moment, is the space and time where the patient and nurse come togeth- er in a manner for caring to occur. Ethics Of Safe Injection Sites Assignment

Theory of the Ethics of Care Edwards (2009) described the evolution of the theory

of ethics of care over the last 15 years in three versions. First, Gilligan (1982) began the discussion with a focus on the context of the situation versus impartial deliberation of the ethical issue. Impartial reflection is an element of justice-based moral deliberation and does not take into consideration the level of caring or closeness in the rela- tionship. Gilligan was the first to move moral theorizing from a position where selves were seen as independent to a position where selves are interconnected and interde- pendent. Strangers would not receive the same level of caring as those for whom we experience a personal responsibility. For example, you might agree to care for your neighbor’s cat while she is away, but that is different from agreeing to care for your sister in your home while she is in hospice care. Caring lies on a continuum, with different levels of emotional involvement for individuals in a caring relationship.

Second, Tronto’s (1993) major contributions have been in the arena of political philosophy. She argued “that if we focus on caring relationships and the relation- ships between power and caring practices, such as bring- ing up children and caring for the sick, a radically differ- ent set of social arrangements will ensue” (Edwards, 2009, p. 233). Similar to Gilligan (1982), Tronto (1993) differentiated between obligation-based ethics and respon- sibility-based ethics. Obligation-based ethics are from the theories of utilitarianism, deontology, or principalism (Beauchamp & Childress, 2009), in which the decision maker determines what obligations he or she has and responds consequently (“What obligation, if any, do I have for this person?”). By contrast, in responsibility- based ethics, the relationship with others is the starting point. According to Tronto (1993), the ethic of care involves developing “a habit of care” (p. 127). The nurse would ask himself or herself how to best meet the caring responsibility.