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The Changing Role of Nurses in Making Ethical Decisions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2021

Catherine P. Murphy
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Extract

In past decades, biomedical technology has created such advances that many health care professionals and consumers are overwhelmed by the apparently unlimited choices in treatment decisions. Problems in human reproduction, preservation of life, research on human subjects, and allocation of scarce resources are just a few of the categories of concerns that we now face. These dilemmas are complex both from conceptual and ethical perspectives. Thus, it becomes more and more difficult to define such important concepts as “human life” or ‘extraordinary treatment,” and to apply these concepts to clinical situations. It has become almost impossible to objectively interpret and apply ethical principles which should guide actions of health care providers.

Type
Nursing Law and Ethics
Information
Law, Medicine and Healthcare , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , September 1984 , pp. 173 - 184
Copyright
© 1984 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics

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