Forgo Medical Therapies: A Case Study

Secondly, the patient should be capable of making and communicating health care decisions for him or herself. Thirdly, the patient must be diagnosed with a terminal illness that will lead to death within six months.  Interested patients must also provide the request for termination in writing to the physician. In addition, physicians are expected to inform patients to alternative means of care including hospice care and other medications. Only after precautions evaluation, the laws then permit patients to make the ultimate life ending decision.

Key people could be family, doctors, carers, religious leaders etc. Each may own distinctive role to play in order for the choices and preferences of the individual to be respected and carried out. [ Every person’s end-of-life trajectory is different and needs differ in intensity and quality over time. End-of-life care must adapt to the varying and changing needs of the individual over time and that it cannot be limited to certain settings or services. The provision of good

Caring for patients at the end of life is a challenging task that requires not only the consideration of the patient as a whole but also an understanding of the family, social, legal, economic, and institutional circumstances that surround patient care.

Medical regulators in every province have issued detailed guidelines that doctors must follow to help suffering patients end their lives and most of these guidelines impose safeguards. It is required that at least two doctors must agree that a patient meets the eligibility

The assessments of the patient in an end of life situation must occur frequently as to detect rapid and/or minimal changes in the patient’s condition. It is also the primary nurse’s role to report any and all changes to the multidisciplinary team, including the family members.

The Nutritionist will be involved in lifestyle management protocols to educate the patient on food in take to help lower the LDL numbers and also weight management protocols to help in the lowering of the blood pressure.

life by physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia. One of the reasons why states have concerns and interests in these two forms of suicide is because, “the state has an interest in the preservation of human life, and that far too many lives are lost prematurely” (Wellman, 2003). A great number of people that are elderly and dying will go to hospice. Hospice is where people go to die. It involves not giving food, fluids, or medicine to their patients. However, if their patients are starving and dehydrated then that is a form of suicide by not giving them the proper nutrition. Individuals would have closure with families, friends, and be able to make proper arrangements for their assets, if physician-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia were

This is recognized to be an issue, and throughout the article the authors provided an understanding of how palliative care and end-of-life care are provided too late for a patient and should be provided at an earlier time in order to bring more comfort to the patients. The authors suggest that when and how end-of-life care is provided should be altered, with nursing ethics in mind, so that patients and nurses may feel better about the care they receive. This source will help my research by providing information on how changing the policies of end-of-life care and palliative care can result in the patient feeling a relief from their suffering and ultimately feeling more comfortable. This will also help my argument in how altering the current policies and focusing on providing better end-of-life care can lead to the diminishment of physician-assisted

One thing that the Church emphasizes in her teachings is this: One shall not be deprived of food or water, even in a “vegetative state.” The Catholic Church identifies the term “vegetative state” to be parallel to terminally ill to the point where the person cannot be taken care of on their own. St. John Paul II reminds us of this, “The sick person in a vegetative state, awaiting recovery or a natural end, still has the right to basic health care (nutrition, hydration, cleanliness, warmth, etc.), and to the prevention of complications related to his confinement to bed”

There are some ethical dilemmas evident in this scenario, starting with an End of life dilemma, refusal of care and informed consent.“End of

In end-of-life scenarios, where the patient may not be able to communicate their wishes, decisions must be made either by the healthcare professional(s) or family member(s). However, who gets to decide or where the line should be drawn are not always clear. Consequently, not all decisions may be ethically permissible. To illustrate, I will discuss a scenario in which physicians and family are not in agreement. Upon proving a brief summary and explaining the ethical dilemma, I will provide moral reasons for two ethically permissible choices from which, by referencing the principle of autonomy and Utilitarianism, will determine which course of action ought to be carried out.

With major advancement in medical treatments, it is now possible to keep a patient alive, which would not have been possible in former times. This has made end of life issue one of the most controversial issues in healthcare. Medical improvements have set the stage for ethical and legal controversies about not only the patient’s rights but also the family’s rights and the medical profession’s proper role. It is critical that any decision made in such situation is ethical and legal to preserve the rights of the patient and also protect the healthcare institution involved. It is very important when making decisions to discontinue treatments to make sure all other alternatives have been explored.

(Schapira, 2010) It is important for patients to have all the facts in order to accept and prepare for death. Another area not always communicated well has to do with advance care planning. Many patients do not learn about options or talk about end of life issues until it is very late. Studies have shown that younger doctors are more likely to initiate conversations about end of life care options. (Pahwa, Babu & Bhatnagar, 2005)

Usually either patients or families have the legal rights to determine what medical course to take with the patient when it comes to the diagnosis of death, in this case the family's conflict needs be considered. The healthcare staff involved in the patient’s care must communicate with the family members during this difficult time. If the patient is determined to be dead, the family will need support from the health care staff that has been involved in the patients care, all available hospital resources, including medical, nursing, social work, ethics, and pastoral care will be a good resource for the family members. Lawyers will usually advise health care staff to work with the family in the most compassionate way possible, the lawyers should be there to help with any conflict between the family members, and this will also help the organization against any future malpractice suits against the health care staff and organization.

Today we are face with death in a different setting then our ancestors, instead of dying at a younger age and dying in our home with our families, people are now dying at a hospital or in a medical setting. We are living longer because of the advances in medicine, this is causing us to develop diseases that our ancestors never had to face. Our ancestors did not live long enough to develop some of the diseases we face today. As Jones (2011) provides, “we don’t just die of different diseases then our ancestors, we also die in different circumstances” (p. 302). The changes in circumstances have caused us to reevaluate what is believed to be ethical when faced with dying. There are many medical options a terminal ill or elderly patient that is dying can choose from, however there is great debate whether some of these options are ethical.