Family Nursing

Biography

Biography: Saima Hamid

Abstract

As health care becomes complex, nurses encounter difficult ethical issues in clinical practice on daily basis. This study was designed to explore the ethical issues and gaps using the Pakistan Nursing Council’s ethical code framework. A qualitative study was undertaken. Six focus group discussions were done with nurses in six government hospitals of District Layyah, Pakistan. The qualitative data from all the FGDs was analysed by applying thematic analysis. Six themes for nurse’s ethical dilemmas identified were: compromised professional accountability to patient, uncooperative behaviour of peers and poor image of a nurse in society. Ambiguity and dilemmas concerning the professional codes of ethics, related to patient care, colleagues and oneself, were encountered more as compared with issues of resource allocation. Nurses reported that they were unable to act on the PNC code fully because of many constraints in clinical practice. The reasons identified by the respondents were complex administrative processes and mixed messages, poor image of the nursing profession, and a power imbalance in the workplace. It was concluded that nurses were not working according to their job description - it was because of lack of knowledge in some cases, while implementation of the established guidelines was problematic in others. Awareness among the nurses regarding PNC guidelines and further implementation of standardized rules is required on an urgent basis. This study provides evidence which will set the scene for the health managers to develop mechanisms to sensitize their staff towards ethical dilemmas they may potentially face in their clinical practice.