A nurse is caring for a client who has been admitted to the mental health unit. While reinforcing teaching about the client's prescribed medications, the nurse communicates truthfully about the adverse effects of the medications. Which of the following ethical concepts is the nurse exhibiting?
Explanation & Rationale
Choice A reason: Autonomy empowers client decision-making, not truth-telling directly. The nurse’s honesty supports it indirectly, but the act itself aligns more with ethical transparency principles.Choice B reason: Justice ensures fair treatment, unrelated to disclosing medication effects. Truthful communication addresses individual care, not equitable resource distribution in this scenario.Choice C reason: Veracity is truthfulness, exemplified by explaining adverse effects accurately. This builds trust and informed consent, a core ethical duty in mental health nursing.Choice D reason: Beneficence promotes well-being, but truth-telling isn’t inherently beneficent. It’s about honesty, not just benefit, aligning with veracity over doing good in this context.