Registered nurses are in a position to advocate for the rights of their patients and are often involved in ethical decision-making processes. Ethical decisions arise when the nurse is faced with a choice, in which he or she believes there is the potential for a bad or good outcome. In the case of Marianne the ethics committee will have to weigh the physician’s recommendation of surgery to remove the clot, her husband’s desire to “try everything” and her children’s belief that she would not want to have surgery only to live with a poor quality of life. In a malpractice case it is essential to remember the ANA Code of Ethics. According to “Code of Ethics” (2007), the second provision states, “The nurse’s primary commitment is to the patient, whether an individual, family, group, or community” (ANA, 2001, p. 18).
The husband wanted to save his wife, but on the other hand, their children belief that their mom wants a quality of life with dignity. When a nurses engaged such a complex ethical situation, the Ethical Committee resources included multidisciplinary groups that are needed to assist patient and family. Based on statutory law, patients have the right to make a decision to withdraw or withhold any treatment (Blais & Hayes, 2011). In the case study of Marianne, the patient do not have advanced directive on file, therefore, the statutory laws are not against family's decision related to her care. The nurse can only educate and provide information and be the patients' advocate.
“If we take seriously the idea that caring is the future of all healthcare…it is not that we care which is moral, but how we care” –Marks-Maran (1997, pg 87) I feel that is why communication is so important to nurses. Of course nurses need to be academics at times and have excellent fine motor skills but all this would be lost if they communicate and express themselves inadequately to patients- and to each
A nurse may personally feel that a patient who is dying of cancer should utilize any and all pain management options available to them, however, if the patient does not wish to use pain medications because he/she feels “out of it” or is afraid of becoming “addicted”, the nurse needs to respect that patient’s choice. One may personally feel that a patient should try all treatment options available when dealing with an illness such as cancer, but needs to be respectful if a patient does not wish to continue treatment or try something new even if the nurse feels that is the “right” thing to do. B. In the scenario presented, different strategies can be used in the Thomas’s situation to improve the quality of life for Mrs. Thomas and her husband during this illness. First of all, discussing with Mr. and Mrs. Thomas what their wants/needs are is imperative.
I will look on allocating resources for the elderly and end of life, and how it goes against ethical standards. Allocating Resources for the Elderly and Ethical Standards In an article by Craig (2010), it talks about how the health care resources has been diverted from the elderly and given to younger generations because they are the future and needs to stay healthier in life. This is an ethical issue that denies the elderly their right to health care. In this cases, though the elderly will not leave longer life compare to the younger people, but still need to receive their full health care till their last breath on earth. Ethical standards, I believe should be in allocating resources for elderly and end of life is the right to a good health care.
In nursing we approach problems with the understanding of advocating for our patients’ rights, benevolence and non-maleficence. However there are consequences when we analyze own our values of what we would want or believe to be religiously valuable. The benefits of assisting the patient in what they want outweigh the risks of not assisting them. Health care providers must provide a service in which the patient seeks to be beneficial to them. History has proven that people want assistance in ending their life because their quality of life is no longer viable.
His primary diagnosis is hypertension. Under older models of care, this patient might be convinced that he would simply overcome his hypertension—that it would “go away.” In the Watson model, however, the nurse should aim to sustain a helping–trusting, authentic, caring relationship to develop the capacity of the patient to problem solve and to teach him and his family proper care of his condition. The nurse educates the patient about hypertension and about improving self-health, thereby
If any changes need be made to better the care that patients receive it should done by enforcing more supervision. There should be more supervision to assure that proper care is being given by all nursing staff and not half done. We should, as healthcare professionals, at all times provide the best care as we possibly can. One way to stay atop of this is by envisioning the patient as our own grandmother, sister, cousin, aunt or any other family member. Total Care Nursing is or can be very stressful on the patient and their family members as well as the nurse.
According to Judson and Harrison (2010), two reasons to study law and ethics is to help health care professionals function in the highest capacity, while providing competent, compassionate care to patients, and to prevent legal issues that can end your profession (p. 3). Judson and Harrison define law, ” as a rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority” (Judson & Harrison, 2010, p. 7). Ethics is essentially standardized behaviors based around what is right or wrong that surpasses what may be considered legal in certain situations. It is crucial as nurses a balance is developed that benefits the patient, but protects the nurse, as well. It is important as professionals we follow the professional code of ethics and stay within the boundaries of the law.
It is really imperative that I must consider the ethical aspects when formulating planning outcomes and goals for each of my clients. The code of ethics helps me justify and substantiate my nursing actions in making wise decisions. Throughout the planning phase of the nursing process, autonomy is the major ethical principle that must be taken into consideration. It is necessary during the planning process to involve my client in the decision-making process, by valuing their thoughts, aspirations and demands when planning goals or outcomes. People of different culture and religious beliefs became ubiquitous in my society, community, and also in my workplace.