Ethics of Best Practice
Instructions:
- Write a 5-7 page (does not include title and reference pages) essay addressing each of the following points/questions.
- Prepare your document using the APA 7th edition format.
- Be sure to completely answer all the questions for each bullet point. There should be six sections, one for each bullet below.
- Separate each section in your paper with a clear heading that allows your professor to know which bullet you are addressing in that section of your paper. The headings should follow APA 7 format. This is a guide to formulating headings in APA format: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/16/
- Support your ideas with at least three (3) citations
- Make sure to add a conclusion and reference the citations using the APA 7 writing style for the essay.
Assignment:
1. Describe the frequency and composition of Review Committees.
2. What are the functions of a Nursing Review Committee?
3. Describe the guidelines for critiquing the ethical aspects of a study.
1. What are your thoughts regarding these guidelines.
2. Are they necessary?
3. Why or why not?
4. What are the levels of reviews by the Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)?
1. Explain the different levels.
2. Are you familiar with IRBs?
3. Do you have an IRB at your institution?
4. How do they function?
5. How often do they meet?
5. What is an informed consent?
1. What are the general requirements for an informed consent?
6. Review one of the website below. Describe an ethical concern and how it is or
was addressed by the organization:
1 . American Nurses Association’s (ANA) ANA Position Statements on Ethics
and Human Rights
2. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Human Subjects Protection
3. Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI)
Sample Paper
The Frequency and Composition of Review Committees
According to the American Psychological Association, the committee should comprise at least five members from various backgrounds. The members should have the professional experience to provide the relevant scientific and ethical review. The committee should have at least one member with scientific interest and one member whose concerns are nonscientific. There should also be at least one member affiliated with the involved institution. The member is usually known as a community member and should have extensive knowledge about the community they are representing. The committee should strive to achieve appropriate representation of the community regarding racial and cultural heritage and gender. A review committee dealing with research involving vulnerable groups such as pregnant women or children should have a member with knowledge and experience working with the subjects. A review committee involved in research involving mentally disabled or handicapped children should have a member involved in the welfare of the vulnerable population (American Psychological Association, 2017).
The Functions of a Nursing Review Committee
The Nursing Review Committee begins with a vision tied to evidence-based practice, best practice, and advancing nursing as a science and an art. The committee is driven by the quest for knowledge and professional growth. The Nursing Review Committee must provide approval for research conducted within the Department of Nursing Services and Patient Care. The committee is charged with the responsibility of assuring that the rights and welfare of the nursing personnel and the patients are protected. The committee reviews studies involving the use of resources and participation of the Department of Nursing Services and Patient Staff in the activities of the study or as participants, research evaluating nursing practice, and procedures that are not normally part of regular patient or nursing care activities the clinic. Studies must be reviewed and approved by the committee before they are initiated. It is required that a researcher should obtain the approval of the NRC before final approval by the relevant IRB. The deliberations of the committee are not shared with the appropriate IRB unless there have been specific subject protection issues raised by the committee (Human Subjects Office n.d).
Guidelines for Critiquing the Ethical Aspects of a Study
Ethical principles in research consist of a set of principles that guides the design of the study. They include voluntary participation, informed consent, anonymity, the potential for harm, confidentiality, conflict of interest, and result community (Fleming & Zegwaard, 2018). Informed consent requires participants to have the freedom of entry and exit at any point of the study. Informed consent requires all participants to have knowledge of the study, including benefits and risks, before accepting to participate. According to Fleming and Zegwaard (2018), informed consent is the cornerstone of ethical research. Information that must be disclosed includes the intent of the research, data to be collected, use of the data, risks, and commitment. The anonymity of the research does not collect any identifiable information. Confidentiality entails keeping identifiable data private, and no links can be made between participants and the data collected. The research must also mitigate all types of harm. A study must also be approved by a relevant ethical committee.
Thoughts Regarding the Guidelines
I believe that ethical guidelines are fundamental in research and promote the aims of the research, and impact the quality of findings obtained by the researchers. The guidelines are not only essential to the participants but the researchers, institutions represented, and the community. The ethical guidelines provide standards that all researchers must maintain. Guidelines such as voluntary participation and informed consent benefit the researcher and participants as the risk of participants exiting the study due to unexpected events reduces while the participants are protected from unfamiliar events as they are aware of all events to take place. The guidelines have also promoted professionalism over the years. According to Fleming and Zegwaard (2018), ethical expectations have increased and broadened due to societal expectations of greater accountability. The importance of the guidelines can therefore not be underestimated.
Are they Necessary? And Why
I believe the guidelines are necessary. This is because they facilitate scientific integrity, respect for human rights, and dignity. They enhance collaboration between science and society. They boost the credibility of the evidence obtained. The guidelines provide a framework for researchers to ensure their actions are guided. The ethical guidelines also promote values such as trust, accountability, fairness, and mutual trust, which are essential for collaborative work. Some ethical aspects, such as confidentiality, protect the intellectual property interests of those involved in research. The ethical guidelines also help researchers to build public support through the establishment of trust (Resnik, 2020).
Levels of Reviews by the Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)
For submission of an application to the IRB, the researcher must request the appropriate level of review. The IRB conducts the verification to determine whether the requested level of review is correct. There are three levels of reviews that include exempt review, expedited review, and full-board review.
The Explanation for the Three Levels of Reviews
The exempt review comprises research with no more than minimal risk and must fit the definition by the federal regulation 45 CFR 46. The reviews are conducted by a member of the IRB staff and require no convened meeting. Categories of exempt reviews include education research, benign behavioral interventions, surveys, public observation, interviews, and educational tests. Expedited reviews involve research with minimal risks but do not qualify as an exempt review. No convened meeting is required for an expedited review. Categories of expedited reviews include clinical studies involving the study of drugs or medical devices, blood sample collection by ear stick, finger stick, venipuncture, and heel stick, data collection through non-invasive methods, research involving materials collected for a non-research purpose, and research on group and individual characteristics. Full board review involves research with more than minimal risks. A fully convened meeting of the IRB committee must take place. Examples include research involving vulnerable populations such as children or pregnant women, international research, and research involving disclosure of information requiring legal reporting of clinical procedures (Human Research Protection Program, 2021).
Familiarity with IRBs
Familiarity with the IRBs is limited to knowledge about IRBs obtained in the classroom setting. I have no experience with IRBs outside the classroom. Application of the IRBs is limited to coursework such as in articles critique of research studies.
An IRB at the Mount Sinai Hospital, how they Function, and How often they Meet
The Mount Sinai Hospital Research Ethics Board (REB) is the IRB in the institution, which oversees all the research involving human subjects. REB ensures that all research conducted meets the highest ethical and scientific standards for the protection of the investigators, patients, and the institution. The board is responsible for the approval of about 350 new studies every year and monitoring ongoing studies that last in excess of one year. Ethical principles utilized by the board include respect for persons, justice, and concern for welfare. The board meets very often, given the institution has a high demand for research review. The board meets more often, especially when a review requires the convening full board review.
