Withholding And Withdrawal Of Treatment

1180 Words5 Pages
In this essay we examine the impact of withholding and withdrawal of treatment from a nursing perspective and examine the ethical issues involved. When a cure is absolutely impossible certain life sustaining medical treatments such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, ventilation, nutrition and hydration, dialysis, transfusions, and antibiotics may have to be withdrawn or withheld (Derse, 2005). Recent media attention on the case of Terri Schiavo has successfully highlighted the ethical, legal and social issues of withdrawing and withholding treatment. Konishi et al (2002) discuss the ethics of withdrawing artificial food and fluid from terminally ill patients bringing in the dilemma on end of life issues and whether life of patients could be ended intentionally by stopping or withdrawing treatment. Withdrawal of food and fluid from terminally ill patients is a growing ethical issue and concerns patients, families, and nurses as well. The study sampled 160 nurses and they completed a questionnaire that included forced-choice and open-ended questions and the act of withdrawing treatment was supported by nurses only for two specific conditions - if the patients requested it and if it relieved the patient of his or her suffering. However, it is widely agreed that doctors' orders, family's requests or even the patient's advanced age could not and should not ethically justify the act of withholding or withdrawing treatment. The study suggests that apart from the direct clinical issues concerned, the ethical, social and cultural factors seem to play a significant role in any decision of withdrawing or withholding treatment. In this essay we discuss the implications of withdrawing treatment and the role of nurses in this regard. We also discuss the ethical, social and legal issues involved in withholding treatment and the challenges faced by nurses providing end-of-life
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