Analyzing an Ethical Issue
Assignment : Analyzing an Ethical Decision
In your role as a PMHNP, you will encounter several situations that will require your ability to
make sound judgments and practice decisions for the safety and well-being of individuals,
families, and communities. There may not be a clear-cut answer of how to address the issue, but
your ethical decision making must be based on evidenced-based practice and what is good, right,
and beneficial for patients. You will encounter patients who do not hold your values, but you
must remain professional and unbiased in the care you provide to all patients regardless of their
socio-demographic and ethnic/racial background. You must be prepared to critically analyze
ethical situations and develop an appropriate plan of action. For this Assignment, you review the
literature and discover the various ethical dilemmas PMHNPs encounter and how these issues
are typically addressed in your state.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
Analyze salient ethical issues in psychiatric mental health practice
Compare ethical dilemmas with state health laws and regulations
Analyze ethical decision-making processes
To prepare:
Review literature for moral/ethical issues encountered by a PMHNP.
Select one of the articles you found that was published within the last 5 years to use as a
focus for this assignment.
Write a 2-page paper in which you do the following:
Summarize the moral/ethical issue in the article (no more than 1
paragraph).
Describe the moral and ethical dilemmas surrounding the issue.
Analyze the ethical issue and compare them to the state health laws and
regulations in your state (Virginia).
Outline the process of ethical decision making you would use to address
this ethical dilemma.
