Question

A nurse is on duty in the emergency room when the nurse is notified that a school bus has been struck by a train. Immediately the nurse reports to the triage area and begins the task of determining the severity of injuries, so that the most critical patients receive care first. Which ethical theory is the nurse putting into action?

a)Utilitarianism
b)Act deontology
c)Rule deontology
d)Virtue ethics

Answer 1

The nurse is putting into action the ethical theory of utilitarianism by prioritizing the severity of injuries to ensure that the most critical patients receive care first.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse is putting into action the ethical theory of utilitarianism. Utilitarianism states that the rightness of an action is determined by its consequences, specifically the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. In this scenario, the nurse is prioritizing the severity of injuries to ensure that the most critical patients receive care first, which aligns with the utilitarian principle of producing the greatest overall happiness.