A nurse's right to refuse a patient care assignment.
Ethics is a set of moral principles or values--a guiding philosophy for behavior. Ethical dilemmas in the health care setting occur daily. Perioperative nurse managers need to consider basic ethical principles when resolving these dilemmas, and they must keep in mind that solutions need to serve the best interests of all people involved in given situations. This article discusses criteria by which a nurse can refuse a patient care assignment and those by which a nurse manager can require that a nurse perform a patient care assignment.
St Luke's Hospital, San Francisco, USA.
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Kuhn
D017848:Blood-Borne Pathogens; D002961:Civil Rights; D003657:Decision Making; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000451:nursing* / Q000635:transmission; D006801:Humans; D028681:Moral Obligations; D009718:Nurse Administrators; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D013527:Perioperative Nursing; D011247:Pregnancy; D037841:Pregnant People; D016079:Refusal to Treat; D012941:Social Responsibility; D016635:Universal Precautions