In addition, nurses engage in a variety of activities that have the potential of impinging on the rights of other human beings. Some nurses participate as investigators in organized research using animal or human subjects. Other nurses are employed in work settings in which clinical medical and health activities and technical procedures have moved into the domain of the unusual or the extraordinary. The majority of nurses continue to perform activities that are usual and expected, according to the norms of accepted practice. The principle of justice is a key point at which issues of ethics and human rights intersect.
Justice entails treating others fairly and equitably.
When we perceive that someone has been treated unfairly, we often say that an issue of ethics is involved. Ethical issues and dilemmas often surround cases of perceived or actual injustice. Although the achievement of justice is the overriding concern of the legal system, the changing body of law is only an approximation of the justice at any given point in time. The elements or features of justice, particularly in the allocation of a resource such as health care, are a subject of continuing debate. Justice requires that the differences among persons and groups are to be valued.