Relational ethics in everyday practice

Abstract

Oncology nurses frequently encounter ethical issues in their everyday practice because of the complex needs of patients, which require the expertise of many health care providers. The involvement of various health care providers, as well as of the patient and family means there is the potential for differing views about what is best for the patient. The focus of this paper is to share a case history describing the ethical issues experienced by nurses and to illustrate how relational ethics can offer guidance for nurses caring for patients with cancer.