Resolving the ethical dilemma of nurse managers over chemically-dependent colleagues

This paper addresses the nurse manager's role regarding chemically-dependent nurses in the workplace. The manager may intervene by: terminating the contract of the impaired colleague; notifying a disciplinary committee; consulting with a counselling committee; or referring the impaired nurse to an employee assistance programme. A dilemma may arise about which of these interventions is ethically the best. The ethical theories relevant to nursing involve ethical relativism, utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, Kohlberg's justice, and Gilligan's ethic of care. Nurse managers first need to understand these theories in order to clarify their own perceptions and attitudes towards chemical dependency, and then satisfactorily resolve this ethical dilemma. Education and social learning are routes to a better understanding of chemical dependency and to broadening the ethical dimensions of nurse managers.