The main ethical concerns for integrating CNAs and LPNs into patient care are the upholding of quality of care and the risk of safety violations. Nurses maybe delegating inappropriately as we witnessed in the video, where the LPN was administering IV push medication. This may be a violation of the LPN integrity or maybe a moral distress decision by the registered nurse delegating. The emotions of distress or exasperation experienced when it becomes unattainable to carry out the morally correct action is moral distress (Butts & Rich, 2022). The nurse may feel that it is impossible to follow the rules and get the job done, so they decided to push the boundaries. The nurse may be overburdened and stressed out and that leads them the challenge their own moral values. This in turn decreases quality of care for the patients and places them at major risk for harm. The entire image of the hospital, healthcare team, and leadership is also tarnished when any of the hospital staff violate moral principles like honesty, benevolence, and nonmaleficence. By delegating inappropriately patient harm could have been done. The hospital leadership needs to rethink of ways to do no harm and keep patients safe.
