A nurse in the emergency department is working triage. Although a patient with hypomania has been waiting for 2 hours, the nurse sends a suicidal patient to be evaluated immediately. This decision is most likely based upon which ethical principle?

Question

1. Deontology
2. Utilitarianism
3. Ethics of care
4. Virtue ethics

Answer 1

Answer: 2
Explanation: Utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of an action and promoting the greater good. By choosing to treat a suicidal patient who may be in immediate jeopardy over a patient with perhaps a more chronic condition, the nurse is focused on the potential outcome of her decision. Deontology focuses on moral duty and that all persons are of equal value. If the nurse used this principle, she might have shown preference to the patient with who had been waiting longer. The ethics of care has most to do with being empathetic and having an emotional connection. It would be hard for the nurse to use this principle for a triage decision as she is likely empathetic to both patients but doesn't necessarily have an emotional connection to either one. Virtue ethics is how the nurse applies her values to a particular case, and is not the primary principle for this situation.