Prevalent moral issue

Sample Answer

. Prevalent Moral Issue in Nursing: Resource Allocation and Rationing

One of the most prevalent moral issues in nursing is resource allocation and the implicit rationing of nursing care. This issue is profoundly important to nurses because it directly impacts their ability to provide high-quality, patient-centered care and frequently leads to moral distress. Nurses are on the front lines, constantly making decisions about how to distribute limited resources – be it time, staff, equipment, or even beds – among multiple patients with competing needs. When resources are insufficient, nurses are often forced to make difficult choices about which aspects of care to prioritize, knowing that some essential care might be "missed" or "left undone." This can weigh heavily on their professional conscience, as it conflicts with their ethical duty to provide the best possible care for all patients.

2. Relevant Articles and Ethical Challenges/Dilemmas

Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D. M., & McHugh, M. D. (2015). Is there a shortage of nurses? Examining the evidence. Nursing Economic$, 33(2), 64-68. (Note: While this article focuses on nurse shortages, it directly underpins the issue of resource allocation by highlighting the root cause of many rationing decisions.)

This article, while focused on the evidence of nurse shortages, directly illuminates the ethical dilemma of resource allocation. It reveals that the persistent issue of inadequate nurse staffing levels is not just an administrative problem but a profound ethical challenge for nurses. When there aren't enough nurses, the remaining staff are stretched thin, leading to situations where "missed care" or "care left undone" becomes an unavoidable reality. Nurses face the dilemma of distributive justice: how to fairly allocate their limited time and attention among all patients when it's impossible to meet every need. They might have to prioritize a critically ill patient's immediate needs over a stable patient's ambulation, knowing that the latter might lead to complications like deconditioning or pressure injuries.