Nurses are always faced with ethical dilemmas as a matter of routine. In most cases, a wrong decision can lead to a detrimental result, and at times it can lead to death (Alba, 2016). At the same time, well-defined decisions can improve medical care and can lead to patient satisfaction. To avoid consequential medical errors and improve patient outcomes, nurses must adhere to ethical principles and encourage the use of medical decision-making frameworks (Atkins, De Lacey, Ripperger & Britton, 2011). Abdul’s case is an excellent example of the many cases medical personnel encounter in their daily practice. A nurse who adheres to the ethical decision-making framework should understand that Abdul is a minor, and in most instances, professionals dealing with patients under the age of full legal responsibility must seek medical consent from parents or guardians. There are several steps to ethical decision making; however, this paper, with the help of Abdul’s case, analyses the first three steps. In this paper, I discuss how I would respond to Abdul’s situation while considering steps one to three of the ethical decision-making model.

Ethics and Ethical Decision Making

Ethics are standards of behaviour that establish how people should act when they find themselves in challenging situations (McDonald & Then, 2019). It is important to note that there is a close similarity between ethics and personal feelings; however, ethics is not the same as feelings. According to Schwartz (2015), our personal feelings provide us with ethical choices that guide us towards doing what is right. Individuals with highly developed feelings feel bad when they engage in the wrong act, but some enjoy doing something wrong. In like manner, there is a distinction between ethics and following the law, although law and ethics are very much similar (Pope, 2016). A well-established legal system incorporates many ethical standards; however, it is also worth noting that the law can deviate from ethical (Pope, 2016). For instance, the age of medical consent in Australia is set at 18, and parents generally consent to the treatment of patients less than 18. This is the law, and the ethical thing to do as a medical practitioner working with minors would be to seek informed consent from patients.

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Moreover, attaining ethical decisions in the medical context requires a trained sensitivity to ethical issues. Notably, the nurses must have a practised method for exploring ethical aspects of a situation (Lechasseur, Caux, Dollé & Legault, 2016). The nurses must be able to understand their choices, and they must weigh every consideration. A well-designed decision-making framework is essential. Significantly, when this framework is repeated and practised regularly, it becomes familiar that nurses work through it automatically without consulting the specific steps (Cashin et al., 2017). The ethical decision-making framework includes five steps, and each includes different considerations and guiding questions that help nurses through the ethical decision-making process (Pollard, 2015). Nevertheless, I will utilize the first three steps in Abdul’s situation.

Step 1: Assessment

Assessment is the first step in the ethical decision-making framework (Pollard, 2015). It is also an essential component of the nursing practice and vital in planning and providing patient and family-centred care. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) requires nurses to conduct a comprehensive and systematic nursing assessment and respond effectively to unexpected changing situations when dealing with patients (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, 2020). To be successful in the assessment step, nurses should identify what they need to make ethical decisions. In this case, I should understand that Abdul, just like any other patient, has the right to make his own decisions. In other words, I should apply the principle of autonomy. As a nurse, I should respect my patients’ autonomy, which means I should respect the decisions made by others concerning their own lives (Nibbelink & Brewer, 2018).

Nevertheless, and despite my intention to respect Abdul’s decision, there remains a challenge. Abdul is under 18, which means that I would have to consult with his parents before choosing. Also, Abdul’s parents are against the new treatment as they consider it to be dangerous. However, Abdul is determined and is willing to proceed with the new treatment, which can be attained regardless of the parents’ views. According to Youth Law Australia, an organization that aims to address human rights for children and young peop