Embracing Bioethics in Neonatal Intensive Care, Part II: Case Histories in Neonatal Ethics

Abstract

Ethical treatment dilemmas are not new to the NICU. With technologic advances over the past 20 years, NICU care has developed rapidly, and survival rates have improved for some of the tiniest and most critically ill infants. In guiding clinical practice, however, standards in evidenced-based medicine have often superseded standards in evidence-based ethics. Neonatal nurses attain a more in-depth understanding of the clinical significance of the four principles of bioethics: autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice. Case studies illustrate the principles discussed.