How the ANA Code of Nursing Ethics would influence a final decision in each case study. With the patient with the hemorrhagic stroke, it is our responsibility to discuss with the patient’s family possible options in which they would feel comfortable taking. According to the Code of Nursing Ethics, “the nurse’s primary commitment is to the patient, whether an individual, family, group, or community” (ANA Code of Nursing Ethics). With the patient having no advanced directives, the decision is much harder to take. Ethics committees can be useful in this situation, because they can help explain the patient’s situation and provide possible answers to those hard questions.
In addition to identifying and following advanced directives, practitioners are also faced with the legal and ethical implications in end of life treatment and care. Palliative care and comfort care measures are another area that significantly impacts the health care provider also today. As we have made so many advances in medical care, we must also look at the quality of life that remains when we have prolonged someone’s life. As terminal conditions continue to progress, health care providers continue to have an ethical and legal obligation to promote the best possible care for the patient. Sometimes this means not aggressively treating a terminal illness and allowing the patient to choose to die with dignity and as comfortable as possible.
Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing Diane Eckert, Christen Rosa, Gary Pagdilao, Melissa Mendoza Nurs 391 April 20, 2015 Willie Goodwin Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing The nurse plays an important role in the safety and well-being of the sick and vulnerable. In two different cases, one involving the care of the unresponsive patient without advanced directives and the second involves the nurse observing negligent behavior by another nurse. The nurse is responsible not only ethically but legally for the care of the patient. The American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics serves to protect the welfare of the sick, injured and helpless. Nurses are relied upon to advocate for our patients dignity, privacy, confidentiality, improper and incompetent care.
They have pushed hard to ensure that government should not be able to bargain down drug prices for users of government health care programs. Any health care policy has to carefully consider the needs of one of the rising population groups in our world which is the elderly. The success of health care means that people are living
According to Garity (2005), “The nurse’s ability to collaborate with patients, families, and multi/ intra-disciplinary health care professionals in the successful resolution of such dilemmas can affect the quality of health care” (p. 11). The nurse has an ethical obligation to give every patient the same level of compassion, care, and respect regardless of the nature of the illness (Chitty & Black, 2010). Whether or not the nurse agrees or disagrees with the decision that Marianne’s family has decided on, the nurse must ethically abide by the family’s wishes and provide the highest quality of care for her. The nurse’s highest level of commitments is for Marianne at that point. Although competing demands of patient, family, and physician have risen, the nurse’s first priority is always providing care that ensures patient safety and protects the best welfare of the patient.
In reviewing the Aging with Dignity Website I learned more about what the Five Wishes are. Death and dying isn’t something that most people want to talk about, but it is very important to make your wishes known before it is too late. Five Wishes helps make this very achievable. For me, the answer to the questions are as follows 1- Who you want to make health care decisions for you when you can’t make them? I would like for my Husband Joseph to make those decisions for me, if he is unable and If my children are of adult age, then I would want my children, Chloe, Hannah, Natalie and Madelyn to make the decisions.
Ethical dilemmas not only affect nurses, physicians, and patients, they also affect families. The ones left behind. References American Nurses Association. (2010). Nursing: scope and standards of practice, 2nd edition (p. 47).
I believe that providing the best possible care for each patient should be the primary concern of nursing. In doing so, the environment is crucial in the meeting the needs of the patient. Central concepts of nursing are “person, environment, health, and nursing” ( Masters, 2014, p.48).Careful consideration must be given in educating the patient about the illness. In early years, the responsibility fell upon the physician. In recent years, the responsibility has been transferred to the nurse to manage the patient’s environment in order to promote the patient’s recovery.
This essay will discuss and critically analyse the nurses’ role in promoting healthy ageing in terms of the important aspects which are to avoid disease and disability, maintain high physical and cognitive function, and sustained engagement in social and productive activities. Avoiding disease and disability Maintaining health is, without question, a main goal and the foundation of any health promotion strategy but maintaining the health and vigour of youth is not possible because age-determined physiological declines are unavoidable (Nakasato & Carnes, 2006). The most common chronic conditions affecting older populations around the world are cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, osteo-arthritis, pulmonary disease, Alzheimer’s disease and psychiatric disorders such as depression and dementia (ICN, 2009). Flood (2002) stated that having already established that elderly are more susceptible to physical illness as a result of many years of wear and tear on their physiology, the
In this way the nurse meets the ethical requirement of honoring a client’s right to self-determination (Funnel, Koutoukidis, & Lawrence, 2009). The American Nurses Association (ANA) includes advocacy in its definition of nursing as "the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations" (Nursing's Social Policy Statement, 2003, p. 6) Historically, patient advocacy has been considered a moral obligation for nurses, which is embodied in terms of specific nursing actions such as helping the patient to obtain needed healthcare, assuring quality of care, defending the patient’s rights Advocacy in nursing finds its theoretical basis in nursing ethics. Nurses work in recognized ethical and legal frameworks. For instance, the ANA's Code of Ethics for Nurses includes language relating to patient advocacy: the nurse promotes, advocates for, and strives to protect the health, safety, and rights of the patient. (Code of Ethics for Nurses - Provisions, 2001).