Caring and the "Unreasonable" Patient: A Perspective on One Facet of Nursing Ethics
Saturday, October 14, 2023
9:00 AM – 10:15 AM ET
Location: Dover C (Third Floor)
One facet of nursing ethics involves caring and the "unreasonable" patient. Nursing and caring are often thought of synonymously. Modern medicine, however, has contributed in unique ways to an ethical dilemma regarding the care of an unreasonable patient. The cultural attitude of entitlement has fostered problems for nurses already overworked and under staffed, all within a work environment that relies heavily on patient satisfaction results. This has resulted in an ethical conflict between the virtue of caring that nurses are encouraged to demonstrate and the reality of work evaluations in light of provider autonomy. In this paper presentation I will address the professional relationship between unreasonable patients and patient satisfactory results conducted by hospitals, medical centers and clinics. In addition, I will explore the issue of justice or fairness as it relates to provider autonomy. Finally, I will present some suggestions to deal with this issue before it escalates to one of violence in the workplace.