Question

For the Welfare of the Profession: Should Nurses Strike?

[Taken from Veatch, et. al. 2015. Case Studies in Biomedical Ethics. Oxford University Press, page 84.]

The nurses at University Hospital were showing all the signs of professional burnout--irritability fatigue, and impatience. Owing to the worst nursing shortage in history, increasingly ill and fragile patients, and the "aging" of the nursing staff as a whole resulting in a number of retirements, the nurses who were left at the bedside were stretched beyond their limits. A large number of the hospital's 220 nurses met to discuss their dilemma.

One of the nurses, Anne Roberts, R.N., state, "We are at the point where our exhaustion is going to affect patient welfare. Additionally, I don't think any of us can continue to take this much stress. I think we have to take a stand, demand a salary increase commensurate with the work we are being asked to do, and ask for an increase in full time positions on the busiest units. We are just not able to meet our professional obligations to our patients under these conditions."

Another nurse added, "If we have to, I think we should go on strike." After considerable discussion, the majority of the nurses concurred. Ms. Robers was not as certain about the strike as were her colleagues.

The union presented their demands to the hospital administration. The hospital administration was quite concerned about the nurses' threat to strike if their demands were not met. Although the nurses were required by law to give the hospital ten days notice to prepare for a strike, that was not a lot of time to transfer the hospital's sickest patients. Ms. Roberts watched with growing concern as it appeared a strike was imminent. She thought a strike might or might not be effective in changing the administration's mind.  In other states where nurses had "walked out," the hospitals had merely used agencies who advertised online to cover staffing during labor disputes. She had heard that these replacement nurses sometimes made up wards of $5,000 per week. She knew of one strike that lasted more than a month. One thing was certain: the strike had the potential of exposing a substantial number of patients to inconvenience and perhaps even considerable risk. However, things could not continue the way they had been going. Ms. Roberts was not certain what she would do--stay or strike.

Question: Should Ms. Roberts go on strike? What action would best uphold the principles of beneficence and/or nonmaleficence? Why? Make sure you cite from the reading in developing your response.

please give full answers!! i already submited this question and the answer was incomplete.Please help!!!

Answer 1

A nurse's primary duty is to provide for the care and safety of her clients. As a nurse, we have to take care of and prevent the client from harm in any situation of crisis that is personal and even professional. We are nurses as well as the same as other professionals. Nowadays we the main issues the nursing professionals are facing is, there were underpaid and they have to work more due to staff shortages. Because of these reasons they cannot meet their demands in their personal life.

In this situation, she has to think cleverly to manage the situation smoothly that "As nurses, we should not harm the patient and work for the welfare of the client"

A nurse's primary duty is to provide for the care and safety of her clients. If participation in a nursing strike will always be wrong because it requires the nurse to violate her fundamental duty and make harm to the patient.

Here in the present instead of going for a strike and safeguard the patient she can go for a "right-based argument" in a negotiated way that the nurses are continually required to work overtime because of personnel shortages, are paid considerably less than people performing comparable tasks for other hospitals or agencies, or are denied a voice as professionals in determining the conditions under which we work. We are not happy to go for a strike that may affect patient safety and results in the violation of ethical principles. She can have the right to argue with the organization to improve the present situation :

a. Paid according to the federal rules or like other agencies.

b. to reduce the overburden by giving more patients, that may result in stress and violation of duty or ethical principles

b. by giving permission to get resignation and works for other organization who paid more

Instead of going for a strike by this way, likely to induce the organization to acknowledge personnel rights.