NURS 6521 Ethical Challenges in Treating Friends and Family Essay Assignment Paper

Scenario #3 describes a nurse practitioner writing a prescription for her husband who is not a patient, for a narcotic. This scenario is troubling on multiple levels. To be a judicious provider, it is the advanced practice nurse’s responsibility to perform an extensive physical and review the patient’s history before a diagnosis is obtained and a treatment plan devised. Writing prescriptions involves the responsibility of being confident in assessing the patient and ordering or administering the correct diagnostic tests and measurements, then creating a plan of care based on these factors (Arcangelo, Peterson, Wilbur, & Reinhold, 2017).

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Ethical Issues

Treating family or friends involves several ethical dilemmas, and increase in severity the closer the relationship is (husband/wife). Conflict of interest arises when the provider has a dual role and loses objectivity, often treats outside their scope of practice, and potentially puts the patient at risk. Issues of non maleficence and beneficence are introduced in this type of situation due to the fact proper evaluations may not be completed or appropriate diagnostic testing performed (Gold, et al., 2014). When prescribing narcotics, proper assessments need to be completed and recorded on the patient’s chart. Clinically validated tools such as SOAP (Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients in Pain) are important to utilize to develop a plan of care, proper dosing, and assessing the patient’s level of tolerance (Woo & Robinson, 2016).