UNCC300 Justice And Change In A Global World - Task 3 Essay Help

Common Good

Graham (2006) defined common good as the sum of social conditions which are desired by people, either as an individuals or a group, for achieving more in an easy manner. In the case of the nursing profession, nurses have to look at striking a balance between respecting the integrity of society and upholding their personal dignity. The above-discussed balance becomes crucial in nursing as nurses need to uphold standards of their profession, ethics, whilst also ensuring that the patients are treated well (Graham, 2006). However, there are a number of challenges, they face to ensure the common good. One such challenge is the impact of the drug usage on nursing’s common good, which is analysed below. 

Challenges

Nurses are through professionals, and in the hospital settings, they appear calm and courteous. Nursing is a challenging profession and like the rest of society, these workers, also face challenges that are personal which may result in them turning to alcohol or drugs. The substance use impairs the judgment of the nurses which results in slower reaction and disorder, which affects their performance at work, and they may harm the patients or themselves. Under the influence, their thinking process may be altered and many at times despite being in the medical profession they may not accept that they are suffering from a problem. The reason they do not admit is that they fear career repercussion. The problem is not confined to altered thinking as it may lead to depression, PTSD, and sometimes end up being fatal due to the overdose (Haber et al., 2009).

The above problems compound considering the fact that nurses have easy access to medical drugs. However, in a study by World Health Organization, it was found that only 7% of the drugs used by the nurses are prescription drugs, and rest are non-medical drugs which include alcohol, cocaine, Marijuana, Heroin, Sedatives, Inhalants, Tranquilizers, and Amphetamines (WHO, 2014).