Devon Gillespie

Professor Burleson

Philosophy 2306

August 6, 2023

Utilitarianism in Nusring

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that suggests that well-being is the only thing that is

intrinsically valuable and that the welfare of each individual is equal regardless of

social/economic class, race, gender, religion, etc (Shafer-Landau p. 66). Utilitarians believe in

the condemnation of harmful acts such as rape, murder, and humiliation while encouraging

positive acts that contribute to an overall greater outcome for the people involved. Behaviors or

activities condoned by utilitarians include but are not limited to, honesty, helping those that are

less fortunate, keeping your word, and volunteering. Utilitarianism is a theory that I try to

practice in my everyday life as frequently as possible, I value doing things like putting items

back where they were found at a clothing store or equipment at the gym, helping friends or

family when they are struggling, and calling the owners of a dog in my neighborhood who

doubles as an escape artist. In the career field that I have chosen (nursing), utilitarianism almost

seems to be the baseline of this career; helping other people for their greater good regardless of

skin color, economic status, sex, or religious beliefs. As a nurse- or any other medical

professional really, it is of the utmost importance to do what is best for the patient to either help

them pass peacefully if these are their wishes or to do all that is possible for them to regain

stabilization and make a recovery.

produce the greatest net benefit when all things have been considered; there is only one right

action (Loewy et.al, 2002). That will be the one that produces the greatest benefit.”

(Researchomatic) In nursing, there can be many times when a patient is dwindling away or is

clearly suffering; it is our job to humanely take away this pain and replace it with a sense of

peace and well-being. Nurses are trusted by many people to do the right thing in any scenario;

the patients, families of patients, doctors, and even other nurses working together all trust that

they will do what is right and morally appropriate for any given situation. Granted the situation

may be quite undesirable or even the outcome may be undesirable but it should be known by all

that everything that could possibly be done was attempted in order to save a life or reduce the

suffering of a patient. Nurses and all other medical professionals are held to a standard that they

will not intentionally cause harm or pain or intentionally sabotage a patient's life in ways such as

giving too much medication or withholding proper nutrition requirements such as food, water, or

necessary supplements. Nurses are also held to standards that they will not do the unthinkable

when it comes to proper care, it is of the utmost importance that a nurse or doctor shall not do

something as far as ‘pulling the plug’ without consent from the patient or their family and

without meeting proper stipulations for such an event like showing no signs of improvement and

representing little to no chance of recovery. Another action similar to removing someone from

life support without consent would be the suffocation of a patient, there is a TV series called

‘Ratched’ where Sarah Paulson, nurse Ratched, holds a pillow over the mouth and nose of

wounded soldiers in the infirmary during the war to “take them out of their misery” (Ratched, S1

ep. 1). It seems as if she had a good reason and is possibly helping them in the end, but we are
unaware of if these events are desired by the soldiers as she would normally ‘attack’ as they were

all sleeping which gives me the impression that this was in fact, a nonconsensual act of evil.

Even as a human living my everyday life and not just as a nurse, utilitarianism holds me

morally required to be the best that I can be for the best outcome not only for myself but for

everyone and everything else around me. The theory of utilitarianism just like all other ethical

theories can be manifested in an infinite amount of situations and circumstances; this could be

something as small as letting a car get in front of me because the occupants are rushing to the

hospital and the same could be said for why we are legally required to slow down and pull over

to let an ambulance pass through traffic quickly so the patient can promptly get the potentially

life-saving care that they need. Something much larger that could apply to the theory of

utilitarianism is if there are a total of six lives at risk and only one person could be saved leaving

five casualties, or the latter, five persons being saved and only having one casualty. Though

saving the five people and losing one may not seem moral or just, we have still saved five of the

six so this is considered the decision that we are morally obligated to make for the well-being of

the five survivors, “Act utilitarianism is a moral theory stating that the right action is the one that

produces the best overall consequences” (Sus). Another example of an act of utilitarianism in

everyday life would be stopping your car, getting out and helping an animal cross the road, or

simply removing it from the roadside where it could potentially be run over or injured by another

vehicle passing by.

Utilitarianism is more than just saving lives and rescuing animals from the road,

utilitarianism has also influenced programs along the lines of environmental protection, National

Parks are a way that we humans have agreed to protect and preserve native species and naturally

occurring landscapes. Doing this ensures the protection and longevity of these landforms and
species for their greater good and also ours considering the great contributions many of these

animals and other life forms bring to our ecosystem, without trees and plant life, we have nothing

to recycle carbon dioxide in exchange for the oxygen that we breathe, without pesky mosquitoes

we have an influx in spider population, so on and so forth. Everything is connected and equal

and should be treated as such, one of the best ways humans can do this is to play our part by

opting not to kill innocent animals possibly for sport or out of fear of bugs and insects for

example. Opting not to harm natural landforms such as trees or mountains out of respect for the

lives that depend on them to live and contribute to their well-being versus opting out simply to

avoid a heavy fine or for our own personal benefit or desires.

Utilitarianism manifests itself in so many different ways and for so many different

reasons, we can apply this theory all across the board more times than not. As average, everyday

civilians, we come across many opportunities to act in a way that aligns with utilitarianism and

makes our world a better place to live in. As a nurse, these duties are even further emphasized as

we are the front line in ‘nursing’ someone back to health and ensuring that their road to recovery

is for their best good and handled in a manner that is morally correct. This includes things like

being honest about potential outcomes of procedures and outcomes of a diagnosis, promising to

not over or under-dose a patient with pain medications or other medications that can have

adverse or negative products when used improperly, not abusing the position that grants us

access to drugs or other items that could be distributed or sold to a member of the general public

and cause harm, to not neglect our patients needs such as helping them to the restroom or moving

them around to avoid painful and dangerous bed sores, to help an injured person in the state of an

emergency even if we are not “on the clock” but just simply grocery shopping or the classic

event of a medical emergency on an aircraft that we see depicted quite frequently in movies/ TV
shows, amongst many other moral requirements that this job may demand. Utilitarian concepts

can also apply to how a nurse treats the family of patients. It can be an extremely hard time

seeing a loved one in a critical condition or even just in a state of suffering, nurses can aid this

discomfort by being upfront and honest with the family regarding expectations, and medications

prescribed and administered along with being an unbiased support system without violating

privacy policies. Since utilitarianism suggests doing what will bring the greatest benefit to the

greatest number of people, this theory and way of thinking are certainly imperative to a career

such as nursing.
 Works Cited:

“Outline of Utilitarianism in Health Care.” Researchomatic, www.researchomatic.com/Outline-

Of-Utilitarianism-In-Health-Care-15072.html. Accessed 6 Aug. 2023.

Murphy, Ryan. Ratched, Netflix, 2020, https://www.netflix.com/watch/80213573. Accessed

2023.

chris.drew.98031506. “15 Act Utilitarianism Examples.” Helpful Professor, 1 July 2023,

helpfulprofessor.com/act-utilitarianism-examples.

Shafer-Landau, Russ. Living Ethics: An Introduction with Readings, Oxford University Press,

New York, 2022, pp. 66–68.