Ethics is defined as the knowledge of the principles of good and evil. Sensitivity to ethical issues should be a prerequisite for any profession enjoying public trust. Nursing holds a public trust and therefore we must be aware of ethical concerns when dealing with patients (Barry, 2002). Ethical dilemmas such as consent force nurses to decide on possible actions to take. By discussing the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, and nonmaleficence and applying ethical theories I hope to clarify how nurses justify their actions. My understanding of ethical responsibility is that I am responsible to myself; I must always be sincere, fair and respectful and I believe I must treat others as I would like to be treated. Nurses faced with an ethical dilemma must decide which possible action is the right one to take and how choosing this action over others is justified (Singleton and McLaren, 1995). During the module we examined various ethical models including Seedhouse's (1998) ethical grid and Curtin's (1982) ethical decision-making model which provide guidance towards resolving clinical dilemmas; some of the aspects of these models will be developed in the next section of this assignment. Rumbold (1999) insists that respect for the autonomy of the person is one of the crucial principles of nursing ethics and ethical models. Gillon (1986, pp.56) defines autonomy as “the ability to think, decide, and act on the basis of such thinking and decisions, freely and independently and without hindrance or hindrance.” Therefore, it can be said that patients can expect to be fully informed about the treatment methods available to them, in order to exercise their right to consent to or refuse such treatment. For a nurse to fully respect the patient's autonomy, he or she must respect whatever decisions the patient makes, and to do otherwise is to ignore the patient as an autonomous being (Fletcher et al., 1995). Fletcher, Holt, Brazier et al. (1995) discuss that when considering patient well-being, nurses may demonstrate paternalism towards their patients. Paternalism is believing that it is right to make a decision for someone without taking that person's wishes into consideration, or even ignoring their wishes; autonomy therefore prevalent. This happens even more so in mental health and learning disability services because people assume they don't have the capacity to make decisions for themselves. Singleton and Mclaren (1995) suggest that the justification of nursing interventions is based on the concept that the principle of beneficence and non-maleficence prevails over considerations of respect for the patient's autonomy.