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Unethical behaviors devastate the nursing practice and can hinder completing a master’s program. They can affect the general morale, credibility, and organizational reputation. Engaging in unethical behaviors can affect productivity, financial loss and fines. Unethical behaviors can hinder the ability of nurses to work together and remain active in a team. They can result in helplessness, anxiety, loss of trust, poor job satisfaction, and frustration. Misconduct can affect the ability of nurses to achieve their objectives and meet the nursing codes of ethics. Unprofessionalism In practice can hinder the provision of quality care to patients and affect their well-being. Unethical behaviors can make it difficult for students to succeed in their nursing master’s program and expand their knowledge. Moreover, unethical behaviors can influence dishonesty and compromise the safety of patients.
Unethical behaviors can attract disciplinary actions such as withdrawal of licenses, suspension, and legal actions. Breaching patients’ privacy by sharing personal information is an example of unethical behavior. Nurses who violate the principle can face legal actions, including prosecution and subsequent conviction. The HIPAA outlines laws determining the distribution and accessibility of patient information (Bijani et al., 2019). The law defines the information that should be kept confidential and private. It also makes it clear regarding individuals who can access what information in a healthcare setting.
Developing personal ties and relationships is another example of unethical behaviors in nursing practice. Nurses are expected to uphold professionalism and avoid double relationships with patients. Nurses engaging in sexual interactions with patients can face disciplinary actions, including prosecutions, loss of operating license, and suspension from service (Aloustani et al., 2020). Intimate relationships are considered an act of malpractice and breaching of patient liberty. Since the patient is usually assumed helpless and unable to make an appropriate judgment, nurses are held responsible and accountable for their actions.
Injuring patients is another example of unethical practice among nurses. Failure to follow procedures and guidelines, poor communication, and use of the wrong tools can affect the safety of patients. Patients can be injured, misdiagnosed, or given the wrong medication when seeking healthcare services (Jia et al., 2021). The family of the affected patient can seek legal assistance by filing a lawsuit in court. The outcome would be devastating to nurses since they can be jailed.
An example in the nursing practice is stealing medicines from the hospital and selling them to a nearby chemist. It is unethical for a nurse to order medication from the pharmacy and take it out of the hospital instead of giving it to patients. Nurses engaging in such behaviors can be reported to the Board of Nursing and face legal charges (Aloustani et al., 2020). They can lose their job and compromise the safety of patients who were supposed to receive the medication.
Plagiarizing a thesis, dissertation, or course assignment is an example of unethical behavior when pursuing a nursing Master’s program. The consequence of the behavior would include a failure or expulsion from the program. Nursing students engaging in unethical behaviors can receive poor grades and face suspension from the course (Bijani et al., 2019). They can be forced to repeat the course or disallowed completely.
Unethical behaviors have devastating implications for nursing master’s programs and practice. Practicing nurses can lose their jobs, suspension, and face demotions and legal charges. They can be reported to the Board of Nursing and face disciplinary actions such as losing operating licenses and obstruction from serving patients. Therefore, nurses must embrace ethical practices and avoid engaging in behaviors that affect them. They must improve their morals and trust while avoiding breaching ethical practices.Nurses must respect the interest of patients and make every effort to ensure the provision of the best quality services.
References
Aloustani, S., Atashzadeh-Shoorideh, F., Zagheri-Tafreshi, M., Nasiri, M., Barkhordari-Sharifabad, M., &Skerrett, V. (2020). Association between ethical leadership, ethical climate and organizational citizenship behavior from nurses’ perspective: A descriptive correlational study. BMC Nursing, 19(1), 1-8.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-020-0408-1
Bijani, M., Tehranineshat, B., &Torabizadeh, C. (2019). Nurses’, nursing students’, and nursing instructors’ perceptions of professional values: A comparative study. Nursing Ethics, 26(3), 870-883.https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733017727153
Jia, Y., Chen, O., Xiao, Z., Xiao, J., Bian, J., &Jia, H. (2021). Nurses’ ethical challenges caring for people with COVID-19: A qualitative study. Nursing Ethics, 28(1), 33-45.https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733020944453