Is it Ethical to Withhold Information from Dying Patients?

Studies have shown that many factors have been contributing to influence patient’s care in an ethical manner. What factors could affects one decision for their medical care? Does it also included the nurse’s individual views or should consider their moral obligations? But what is ethics really is? Based on the book Nursing Ethics by Butts & Rich, “Ethics is a systematic approach to understand, analyze, and distinguish matters of right and wrong, good and bad, and admirable and deplorable as they relate to the well-being”. Ethics should follow the current AMA guidelines.

For example, the Hippocratic oat, the prayer of Moses Maimonides, the bible, the Holy Koran, and the Islamic legacy, as well as cultures, traditions, and social morality have shaped and guided the development of ethical standards in the medical profession. The majority of these historical documents focus on “avoiding harm to patients” Ethics refers to a professional moral conduct. Ethics, particularly professional ethics, describes the moral actions based on professional character and ethical principles in each profession. The statements of medical ethics require the health care providers to do what is best for the patient and place the patients’ interests before the interests of the physician. Above all, the purpose of medical ethics is to protect and defend human dignity and patients’

There are four principles of ethics: Respect for autonomy, Beneficence, Non maleficence and Justice. This four principles offers comprehensive thought of the ethical issues in clinical settings (Beauchamp and Childress 2001 cited in UK Clinical ethics Network 2011).

Therefore, it is up to healthcare providers to be supportive of patient’s decisions and help them cope with whatever the outcome may be. According to the ANA Code of Ethics, “nurses establish relationships of trust and provide nursing services according to need setting aside any bias or prejudice” (http://nursingworld.org/DocumentVault/Ethics_1/Code-of-Ethics-for-Nurses.html). This means my role as a nurse is not to influence the individual’s decision, but to allow them to decide for themselves and respect their wishes. This quote from the Code of Ethics also supports the concepts of fidelity, autonomy, and beneficence. Fidelity is being loyal and supportive of our patients, while autonomy allows the patient to make their own decisions without fear of judgement from their nurse (http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/EthicsStandards/Resources/Ethics-Definitions.pdf). Beneficence is what I believe to be of the utmost importance in ethical situations, because if my patients cannot believe that I will be their advocate and treat them with compassion, then they cannot trust me and no relationship can be

According to the Cambridge Dictionaries Online, ethics is a system of accepted beliefs that control behavior, especially such a system based on morals ("Cambridge," n.d.). Ethics in health care is aimed at providing guidelines and codes for health care providers for their duty, responsibility, and conduct (Mohanti, 2009). Major ethical issues arise at the end-of-life, this can include aspects in pharmacology, barriers to effective pain management, drug diversion, and the role of the nurse in pain and symptom management. With the many issues surrounding end-of-life, there are also available resources out there to help.

Healthcare professionals will be faced with ethical dilemmas throughout their career, particularly in the hospital environment. Having an education regarding professional healthcare ethics will provide some direction in how to best address these dilemmas at a time when either the patient or their family is in need of making decisions for themselves or their family member. It can be difficult for healthcare professionals to weigh professional protocol against their own personal beliefs and ethical understandings when determining critical care for their patient.

Ethics are rules of conduct and moral principles of an individual which have various origins such as family, culture, and social environment. Given the diversity of people in the healthcare profession and the importance of providing care that is ethically sound

Any member within the healthcare environment may be conflicted with some ethical decisions that have to be made. Ethics committees have been developed, and are required due to the number of ethical issues that present daily within hospitals and other health institutions. These committees are comprised of persons who assist patients, their families, and healthcare personnel in identifying, understanding, and quickly resolving ethical issues. Policies, procedures, and ethic codes are formulated around moral principles of beneficence, autonomy, non-maleficence, and justice.

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.

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.

As future nurses we are taught the principle of ethics; which focus on providing our patients with respect, and protecting their right to make their own decisions. The practice of nursing is governed by the American Nurses Association, which the cornerstone of the association is the code of ethics. Nonmaleficence, beneficence, fidelity, autonomy, justice are just a few of the ethics that nursing focuses on to provide adequate patient care. Autonomy means to respect the patient’s right to make their own decisions. Returning to a patient when when a nurse says they will return is a nurse maintain fidelity, and keeping their word. Starting CPR on a patient that has no pulse is an example of beneficence meaning to do what is best for the

When researching this case study, the relevant ethical principles that apply to this case study are autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice apply. Autonomy, according to Oxford Dictionary, “Is the right or condition of self-government, especially in a particular sphere.” The medical team respected the patient’s and her husband’s decisions based on their values and beliefs. The principle of benefice, “which centers on promoting the well-being of others,” was used to determine the fate of the patient and her child. The well-being of the woman and her child, was spiritually in this case. Another ethical principle that was involved in this case was the principle of nonmalefiencene, which is “not intentionally inflicting harm on the patient

Ethical Codes are in use today by many organizations to clearly establish their values and provide a procedure if a code violation occurs. Medical ethics began as a professional code for physicians and has now expanded and includes a variety of health care professions and health care organizations. The growth of medical knowledge and technology have grown so have the concerns that ethical standards and issues facing our society today may be compromised or not appropriately addressed (Littleton et al., 2010).

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,

There are many ethical issues that the medical field faces daily. One major issue that is a common debate recently is death and dying and the ethical dilemmas associated with this stage in life. There are many different routes a patient can take when they are diagnosed with a terminal illness, two routes that are often up for debate are palliative care and physician assisted suicide. Many ethical concepts are brought up in the debate of these routes of care, sometimes even conflicting one another. Since medicine has advanced over many years we are experiencing a growing population of elders. With this increase in the elderly population, the debate of death and dying has become an important topic to