Passage: Another theme is confidentiality and this is an important principle in many nursing ethical codes. This is where information about the person is only shared with others after permission of the person, unless it is felt that the information must be shared to comply with a higher duty such as preserving life. Related to information giving is the debate relating to truth telling in interactions with the person in care. There is a balance between people having the information required to make an autonomous decision and, on the other hand, not being unnecessarily distressed by the truth. Generally the balance is in favour of truth telling due to respect for autonomy, but sometimes people will ask not to be told, or may lack the capacity to understand the implications. Finally, the role of empirical ethics has become prominent in recent years.By giving consideration to the themes above, the nurse can endeavour to practice in an ethical way. This key outcome in nursing practice is sometimes challenged by resource, policy or environmental constraints in the practice area, which can lead to moral distress.

Question: What can happen to nurses if their ethics are challenged?
moral distress