Ethical Decision Making in Nursing and Health Care: The Symphonological Approach

by James H. Husted, Gladys Husted PhD, MSN, RN

Overview

Named a 2013 Doody's Core Title!

"This book provides a systematic approach to bioethical decision making, a process that can help clarify situations where right and wrong are not clearly definedÖ.This should be a valuable book for ethics and theory courses." Score: 100, 5 stars

--Doody's

Husted and Husted's classic nursing ethics text provides a systematic approach to bioethical decision making that can help clarify situations where "right" and "wrong" are not clearly defined. Based on the interaction of health professional and patient, this approach focuses on well-being and the right to self-direction for both. Numerous case studies provide practice in bioethical decision making, with nearly 50 case studies analyzed in detail.

This fourth edition nursing ethics text includes two new chapters, along with a teacher's online manual for enhanced pedagogy: The first new chapter describes the four traditional ethical systems and how they pertain to interaction in the health care setting while the second new chapter expands upon the importance of context. The final chapter on "Symphonology" has been revised for use by master's and doctoral students, with numerous other chapters revised or rearranged, and various teaching tools updated - from chapter-ending questions to dilemmas and case studies. Nurse educators and their students, practicing nurses, physicians and allied health professionals will find this book an invaluable resource, now and into the future.

New Digital Supplements:

New to this edition is a digital supplement for educators who adopt this book for classroom use. The online teacher's manual, which can be obtained from Springer Publishing Company, provides a wealth of information for instructor's to plan their teaching activities and to enhance active learning for students. It will assist faculty in preparing for class, and in decreasing preparation time.

The online teacher's manual includes:

• Chapter summaries
• Major focus areas
• Classroom activities
• PowerPoint Slides
• Test-bank

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826114518
Publisher:	Springer Publishing Company
Publication date:	11/23/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

James H. Husted is an independent scholar.

Gladys L. Husted, RN, MSN, PhD, CNE, is Professor Emeritus of Nursing, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA.

Table of Contents

List of Case Study Dilemmas
List of Figures
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgments
Section I: The Basics of Bioethical Decision Making

1. Overview
2. The Ethical Journey
3. The Nurse--Patient Agreement
4. The Bioethical Standards and Their Role as Preconditions of the Agreement
5. The Nature of the Ethical Context
6. Practice-Based Ethics and the Bioethical Standards as Lenses
7. The Power of Analysis Through Extremes
8. Apparent Conflicts Among the Bioethical Standards
9. Elements of Human Autonomy

Section II: Beyond the Basics--An Extended Perspective

10. Giants: The Classic Tradition
11. Contemporary Ethical Systems
12. Virtues as Resources
13. Advanced Concepts in Symphonological Theory

Section III: Case Study Analyses
Analyses of Dilemmas
Glossary
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Praise for the new fourth edition: "Contemporary ethics instruction in nursing often fails to appreciate the essential realities of the intense interpersonal agreement in which a nurse and patient have entered. Husted and Husted provide the professional nurse with a practical framework for ethical problem solving. This includes the resources of a nurse's present knowledge, a contextual analysis of the ethical situation, and a guide for keeping awareness of these two relevant to the circumstances. The case studies are authentic, thought provoking and provide insight for the professional nurse in distinguishing the bioethical standards of autonomy, freedom, objectivity, self-assertion, beneficence, and fidelity as structural preconditions of the agreement. For nursing teachers, this text is user friendly and an excellent example of a nursing theory in evolution. It will become a mainstay for both ethics and theory courses."
—Suzanne Edgett Collins, RN; MPH, JD, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Tampa

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Diane M Tomasic, EdD, RN (Slippery Rock University )
Description: This book provides a systematic approach to bioethical decision making, a process that can help clarify situations where right and wrong are not clearly defined. This fourth edition contains two new chapters and a teacher's online manual is now available.
Purpose: The primary purpose is to examine bioethical dilemmas faced by nurses, but the book includes examples of dilemmas faced by other health professionals. This is a worthwhile goal as healthcare professionals face complex bioethical dilemmas on a daily basis and need tools for resolution.
Audience: The target audience includes nurse educators and students, practicing nurses, physicians, and allied health professionals. The authors have extensive experience in the area of bioethics.
Features: The first section guides the reader through the basics of bioethical decision making based on the concept of symphonology which is concerned with ethical decisions and agreements. The second section expands on the process with advanced concepts and contemporary ethical systems. The third section provides analyses of the case studies presented throughout the book. Most chapters include case studies and each concludes with discussion questions.
Assessment: This should be a valuable book for ethics and theory courses. It could also be a valuable resource in general for the analysis of ethical dilemmas.

Doody's Review Service