A Stroke Is A Medical Emergency

This paper is written to discuss the ethical dilemma we come across when asking our self whether or not we should place a tube feeding in a patient with a history Alzheimer’s or Dementia. Will this prolong the patients’ life or just the inevitable death? Most often a decision needs to be made regarding the placement of a tube feeding. The question is not initiated by the patient themselves. This is the reason why educating our patients are so important. In this paper I will discuss how important the role of the healthcare professional plays in advocating for a patient. To help answer this ethical dilemma several issues will be explored. I will focus on the seven principles of ethics, education, utilitarianism, top-down

Moreover, an emphasis is imposed on the rights of a single patient to commit an act or decision even though it is in contrast with the views of the others. In regards to the ethical dilemma, a nurse could not justify the morality of the two possible choices based on their results and consequences. The Deontological approach would encourage the health care staff as well as the patient to ask themselves the most righteous choice for their situation. With this in mind, a combination of ethical theories can also be employed to give light to the dilemma. In view of this, another ethical approach could be applied to solve the issue, and this is the Right-based approach. This theory also aim to promote the rights of every person, and that, they are indispensable just to make ends meet. However, not all ethical theories can be incorporated in every dilemma in a health care setting because their foundations would contradict one another. In order to provide an effective and efficient solution, nurses should be knowledgeable of the principles enveloping each of the ethical theories and should be wise to apply them in appropriate issues and

There are three types of strokes that cause changes to the brain: Hemorrhagic stroke,Intracerebral hemorrhage and Transient ischemic attack (TIA). Ischemic stroke is the most common form of stroke, accounting for around 87% of strokes.

In addition, ethical values and morals must be appropriately given importance and significance in the health care, providing practice to ensure that the welfare and health of the patients would be given priority, thus, protection and promoting the moral aspect of the practice. As such, this essay aims to choose whether a deontological or utilitarian viewpoint would be essential for a particular situation of reality important of a health care provider. In this regard, both concepts would be briefly distinguished, to be able to make a choice, as being applicable to the situation at hand. Subsequently, principles and alternative

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Each year more than 795,000 Americans suffer from a stroke, which means that every forty seconds someone has stroke (Liebman, 2012). Although a stroke can occur at any age, strokes are frequently seen in the older adult demographics. An increase with age doubles the risk for a stroke each decade after 55 (Grysiewicz, 2008). The percentage of stroke survivors to almost fully recover from a stroke is only 10 percent; in contrast, 40 percent of stroke survivors will face moderate to severe impairment which will entail distinctive care (Perlmutter and Colman, 2005). When all strokes are analyzed according to demography of class system, approximately 60% of strokes occur in low or middle income countries (Silverman and Rymer, 2009).

Nurses have an ethical and professional responsibility to advocate for patient autonomy when patients are cognitively competent and to protect their well-being when they are deemed incapacitated. These are necessary professional roles concerning the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and respect for others. Virtue ethics is a form of deontology that adheres to the philosophy that humans have a duty (obligation) to themselves and others; moreover, to adhere to the ethical principles and perform virtuous actions and avoid vice. These cardinal virtues include wisdom, courage, temperance, justice, fortitude, generosity, self-respect, good-temper, and sincerity (Guido, 2001, pp. 33–38). Additionally, patients have the right to patient-centered care, privacy, be free from discrimination (culturally competent care), and prompt complaint resolution. It is imperative that nurses be familiar with the Code of Ethics for Nurses, along with ethical principles and employ these as guidelines for professional competence both inside and outside the areas of practice.

Life in the emergency room is can be fast paced, with decisions made by healthcare professionals who need to consider the basic ethical principles of non-maleficence, beneficence, autonomy and justice. These principles are resources designed and intended to provide a comprehensive understanding, guidance and rules of conduct to ensure an ethical and legal decision is made, regardless of the medical staffs subjective view of what is right and wrong (Tong, 2007, p. 7)

As stated in Acute Stroke Intervention (Prabhakaran, Ruff, & Bernstein, 2015), one of the leading causes of death and disability in the United States are strokes. Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) results when an artery that is supplying the brain becomes blocked, this occurrence leads to cell death of brain tissue. Improving brain function after an ischemic stroke is of high priority for clinical research. General consensus shows that administration of intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV rtPA) therapy is helpful when introduced within 4.5 hours of ischemic stroke symptom onset. The benefit of intravenous (IV rtPA) lessens when the onset of symptoms goes beyond 4.5 hours. The use of (IV rtPA) is contraindicated when there is

Depending on the most likely cause of your stroke, your doctor may advise specific medication or consider surgery to remove fatty deposits in your carotid artery.

All procedures and treatments should be intended to help the patient reach their individual goals; to address this need the we will apply the ethical construct of beneficence. “To ensure beneficence, medical practitioners must develop and maintain a high level of skill and knowledge, make sure that they are trained in the most current and best medical practices, and must consider their patients’

pressure and smokes is more likely to have a severe stroke. Many doctors are asking that patients to stop smoking because it increases the risk of having many other diseases besides stroke. Cigarette smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, causes diseases, and reduces health of smokers in general. As stated, “Smoking can cause lung disease by damaging your airways and the small air sacs found in your lungs.”(“Health Effects”3). Nicotine from cigarettes is as addictive as heroin, nicotine addiction is hard to beat because it changes your brain.

The ethical principle of beneficence maintains that one ought to do or promote good (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2014). The treatment can have a good result in patient’s treatment, but if the treatment cause fatigued, mouth sores, and losing hair, then the ethical principle of nonmaleficence which requires one to avoid causing harm or hurt in the beneficent act of treatment (association) cannot be upheld because the complications would cause harm to the patient. The patient refuse blood transfusion due to her belief, and the ethical principle of autonomy denotes to respect another's right to self-determine a course of action (association), but if the blood transfusion and the surgery were not processed then the ethical principle of beneficence cannot be upheld because beneficence means to do good and requires nurses to act in ways that benefit patients (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2014). Therefore, refusing blood transfusion and surgery would against the patient’s benefit.

Everyday, healthcare professionals are faced with ethical dilemmas in their workplace. These ethical dilemmas need to be addressed in order to provide the best care for the patient. Healthcare professionals have to weigh their own personal beliefs, professional beliefs, ethical understandings, and several other factors to decide what the best care for their patient might be. This is illustrated in Mrs. Smith’s case. Mrs. Smith is an 85 year old who has suffered from a large stroke that extends to both of her brains hemispheres which has left her unconscious. She only has some brain stem reflexes and requires a ventilator for support. She is unable to communicate how she wishes to proceed with her healthcare. Mrs. Smith’s children, Sara and Frank have different views regarding their mother’s plan of care. The decision that needs to be made is whether to prolong Mrs. Smith’s life, as Sara would like to do, or stop all treatments and care, as Frank feels his mother would want. In the healthcare field, there are situations similar to this case that happen daily where moral and ethical judgment is necessary to guide the decision that would be best for the patient. The purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss, compare and contrast the personal and professional values, ethical principles, and legal issues regarding Mrs. Smith’s quality of life and further plan of care.

There are four basic ethical and bioethical principles that have a strong influence in the practice of medicine, predominantly medicine that deals with those who are dying. The first is beneficence, which directs the physician and health care worker to take positive actions, specifically by restoring health and relieving suffering (Bongard et al., 2008). Then there is nonmaleficence. Goldman and Schafer (2012) add that nonmaleficence is the idea that people should not be harmed or injured knowingly. The third ethical principle is autonomy,

My great-grandmother passed away four years ago, under the care of irresponsible emergency medical staff at the LewisGale Pulaski community hospital. Her death was due to complications from a stroke, which could have been easily taken care of, had the hospital staff diagnosed her in a correct and timely manner. The medical staff took at least two hours to diagnose her stroke, then refused to give her stroke medication after they did make a diagnosis, claiming it was too late. In the following ethical review, I intend to discuss the effects of the issues with malpractice in this case in the form of failure to comply with the basic ethical concepts of nonmaleficence and beneficence. A patient should not be harmed or be refused necessary medication due to the treating physician’s personal opinion on the time period to administer medication.