A. IntroductionThis paper will examine confidentiality principles, ethical theories and a case study presented on the Z family and ethical decisions of professionals. It will provide a better understanding of how moral and ethical situations can be approached by the professional and provide examples and theories that can be put into practice in difficult decisions.B. Ethical Theory The importance of ethical theory plays an important role in nursing practices. It is often difficult to understand where the lines of confidentiality should be drawn, so to help decipher the feelings that professional nurses have about what they consider to be fair or unfair, there are a number of ethical theories that can be used to understand an issue ( McGowen, 2012). Morally, each individual has their own personal compass, but in terms of medical practice, there needs to be a unanimous understanding of what constitutes correct behavior in the best interests of the patient. Practices such as utilitarianism, deontology/Kantianism, virtue ethics and morality All particularisms play a vital role when it comes to understanding the application of rules and consequences in nursing practice. Each theory has a specific approach to addressing ethical issues. For example, Deontological looks at what an individual is expected to do, based on job descriptions and obligations to both the hospital and patients (Slowther et al, 2004). Another example is virtue ethics, which can be seen as the method that nurses believe is the correct way to behave when working with both patients and colleagues (Slowther et al, 2004). Without these practices, trust would not be established between patients and professionals, which would be detrimental to... half of the paper... 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2014, from http://www.aacn.org/wd/Cetests/ media/C1252.pdfNational Institute for Health Research (2013). “Key Privacy Principles”. Careers and confidentiality. August 7, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.carersandconfidentiality.org.uk/information-sharing/key-principles-of-confidentiality/Sankor, P., Mora, S., Merz, J., Jones , N. (2003). “Patient Perspectives on Medical Confidentiality.” NCBI. J Gen Intern Med. August 2003; 18(8): 659–669.doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2003.20823.x. Retrieved May 14, 2014, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1494903//Slowther A, Johnston C, Goodall J, Hope T (2004) “A Practical Guide for Clinical EthicsSupport.” The Etox Center. Section C: Ethical frameworks. Retrieved May 14, 2014, from http://www.ukcen.net/uploads/docs/education_resources/pack1/pack1_moral.pdf