Community physicians have been around almost as long in some capacity, dealing with these sufferings with the technology available. Helping people deal with their suffering is a high calling, and how far this calling is taken is the topic of this work. How far should a physician go to ease suffering? Physician assisted suicide is a method for doctors to manage a voluntary patient death without administering the lethal medication. Doctors prescribe the medication and the patient administers their own death.
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resuscitation, ventilation, nutrition and hydration, dialysis, transfusions, and antibiotics may have to be withdrawn or withheld (Derse, 2005).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.
Life and Death Issues in Healthcare A Review of the Case Study HS101 Abstract There are many issues raised by life and death choices in healthcare. Advance directives are a set of directions you give about the healthcare you want if you ever lose the ability to make decisions for yourself. If you have a disease you can choose curative care which is directed at healing or curing the disease or palliative care which involves care that helps relieve the symptoms, but does not cure or treat then disease. When it becomes apparent that a patient is approaching the end of life, or that the patient no longer wants to prolong their life, a decision can be be made to withhold or withdraw treatment. Advance directive laws merely give doctors and others immunity if they follow it, the only reliable strategy is to discuss your values and wishes with your healthcare providers ahead of time to make sure they are clear about what you want.
Ending Nurse-Nurse Violence with Ethical Leadership NR504: Leadership and Nursing Practice: Role Development Ending Nurse-Nurse Violence with Ethical Leadership Upholding high professional standards and codes of ethics is and always will be a top priority within nursing. There is an abundance of literature focused on the subject, with much of it emphasizing the treatment of patients. However, in the past twenty years there has been an increase in research related to how nurses treat each other. As a profession, nursing is well known for its caring spirit; nurses devote their time and energy to easing the suffering of their patients through the care they deliver. Yet, there exists in on-going trend of nurse-on-nurse violence within the workplace.
“Many physicians say they would be clouding their roles as healers if they helped patients to die” (Buchanan 36.) Physicians even take the Hippocratic Oath, which states that “a physician promises to help the sick and never to cause harm” (Buchanan 36.) As Daniel E. Lee, a reporter for the Hastings Center, says “Meaning and hope are possible in all of life’s situations, even in the midst of suffering” (17.) If the United States were to nationally legalize assisted suicide, it would be a disaster, not only because the way it would go against our morals, but the way it would negatively effect today’s society. “Janet, Sherry , Marjorie, and Susan were not terminal by accepted medical definition…[they] were not Kevorkian’s patients in any traditional sense.
Fundamental legal aspects of each case The ANA Code of Ethics are used to help uphold fundamental legalities. When we look at the ethical responsibility and fundamental legalities that are associated with direct patient care and as it applies in the case study case study of patient Marianne, a 79 year-old female, who is brought to the emergency department with hemorrhagic stroke, a bad prognosis of recovering and she does not have an advance directive. The legal aspects of the legal responsibilities of the registered nurse who was a witness in a malpractice case of a nursing colleague that was found to be negligent in following the standards of the nursing practice. The primary obligation of the nurse is to protect the patient’s best interest, maintaining safety, dignity and ethical accountability, which is essential in the first case of Marianne, as she is neurologically unstable and unable to have a voice in her care and does not have a living will. According to the ANA Code of Ethics, the nurse is responsible to provide the family with full disclosure about Marianne’s condition and inform the family of possible outcomes of having
The Pros and Cons of Assisted Suicide Linda Daniels HCA322: Health Care Ethics & Medical Law (BGE1234A) Instructor: Kymberly Lum September 24, 2012 The Pros and Cons of Assisted Suicide Assisted Suicide is a widely devised topic among the medical field and on a personal level. In this paper we will discuss the options for assisted suicide, the United State states that do approve of it and some of the states that do not approve of assisted suicide. I personally approve of assisted suicide and I will go over the reasons I do approve of it. This is such a diverse subject and we all have our own opinion on assisted suicide and who is to say who is right and who is wrong but let’s get started on this diverse subject and see where you stand. There are three states in the United States that approve assisted suicide they are the following states Washington, Oregon, and Montana.
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).
In this essay, I am going to discuss the difference between euthanasia and murder in three main aspects – the patients’ will, the intention, the condition of patients. Unlike Murder, euthanasia besides under the patients or their closed relatives’ permission, their illnesses are fully investigated by professional doctors to prove there is no reasonably hope of recovery. They are informed the consequence and not force to do so. Patients’ lives do not take away surprisingly like in murder case. Euthanasia opponent always claims that doctors have the duty to help the patient to continue alive even depending on machines only.
The principles used in ethical decision-making and the Nursing and Midwifery code of professional conduct will also be discussed. The writer will be looking at a scenario within her practice exploring some legal and ethical issues that arises during practice, adhering to confidentiality at all times. A summary of the main points will be discussed in the concluding part of this essay. In this essay, the writer will explore a scenario of an elderly patient who had a hip fracture was admitted into the ward from the accident and emergency unit. Her medical history included advanced senile dementia and severe heart problems with a ‘DO NOT RESUSCITATE ORDER”.