Ethical memoir

Running head: ETHICAL MEMOIR 2

The Dilemma

When I was working eight years ago as a medical assistant, there was an ethical dilemma that occurred to me. I loved working with pregnant women, especially since I had children myself! I was working for a multi-practice office and had a high-risk obstetrics patient who was a surrogate mother to triplets. She was very lucky!! She had gotten pregnant through artificial insemination, also known as IVF. She was about twenty weeks pregnant when she came into the office, stating the parents did not want three but only two of the unborn babies. The patient seemed confused and discombobulated. Other than that, her mood seemed unfazed. She was considering aborting one child for the sake of health, finances, and many other factors. Therefore, how should we to judge her and her course of actions in the pregnancy? According to an article in BioMed research international, women with multiple gestations who already have other risk factors are likely to have fetuses with decreased birth weight, congenital malformations, and other complications in the pregnancy (Simopoulou et al., 2018). With all the legalities about abortions set aside, I suddenly felt that this was very deceptive on her part!! How could she??!! At the same time, I knew what my job function was as a medical assistant. The way I interpret ethics is that it is a moral code of conduct influenced by many factors outside of how laws are formed. Values is what seemed clear to me.

Ethical codes can differ depending on parental influence, religious belief, societal customs, values, and public opinion. Many moral laws are not punished except on a personal level. Ethical codes are influenced and enforced by the same people, meaning when a child goes against a parental code, then the parents may voice their displeasure with their child for doing something against what they were taught. Ethics are the heart behind the law and are necessary for people to make better choices (CCN, 2019). I needed to advocate for the patient and her best interest, regardless of what I thought. It was tough to accept that she was even remotely thinking of going this route. Suddenly, my attitude changed from glowing and joyful to somber and silent. Ethically, I believe that I had I expressed myself in this situation, it would be morally wrong. I would have said something disturbing to the patient and would have lost my job there. Not to mention, the patient was already disturbed about even considering it. I do not know what happened to her. At the end of her care, she was referred to a high-risk fertility specialist and another high-risk obstetrics office about one and a half hours away from our location.

Conclusion

As we grow and our world becomes bigger, we gain a better understanding of how our decisions can impact the world. As children, we usually experience a small world greatly affected by our parents. Our world is mainly black and white or right and wrong. As we become teenagers, we begin to expand the society we are influenced by and our role. We test our right and false beliefs and blend it to what the world shows us. We begin to take charge of our decisions, and our ethics begin to develop. We start learning how our ethical choices will impact the people around us. As young adults, we break farther from our childhood beliefs and take even more liberties with our moral intuitions. We may be more likely to stretch our ideas and take chances. As we mature into full-grown adults, our ethical beliefs are more developed as we have a greater understanding of how making bad moral decisions can impact the world we live in. I think ethics is something that develops as we mature, and we learn how our choices impact the people that we share the world with. As nurses, we will all experience ethical dilemmas. The problem is setting aside interests and values apart and take care of the client who needs moral and emotional support--regardless of the outcome. If I was faced with the same problem or dilemma again, I believe my reaction would be the same. We are taught to advocate for the patient and to be their support. One day, I hope to be one of the very best nurses out there and can lend a helping hand and support all walks in human life.

References

https://chamberlain.instructure.com/courses/52438/pages/week-1-lesson-ethics-and-aristotle?module_item_id=6761591

Simopoulou, M., Sfakianoudis, K., Tsioulou, P., Rapani, A., Anifandis, G., Pantou, A., … Koutsilieris, M. (2018). Risks in Surrogacy Considering the Embryo: From the Preimplantation to the Gestational and Neonatal Period. BioMed research international, 2018, 6287507. doi:10.1155/2018/6287507

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