The ethical issue at hand, is how the patient of a nursing home, her family and the nursing home personnel will come to an agreement for the best healthcare treatment for the patient. Deana, a 76-year old woman stricken with Parkinson's disease, has suffered a lot of health set-backs such as, her inability of taking care of herself, her inability of walking so she is confined to a wheel chair, her losing weight and developing a small pressure sore on her coccyx, her developing aspiration pneumonia(inflammation of the lungs and airways to the bronchial tubes) twice in two months and her inability to swallow which is the cause of the dilemma at hand. The nursing home director requested permission from her family to place a feeding tube, so …show more content…
Placement maybe temporary for the treatment of acute conditions or life long in the case of chronic disabilities. There are different types of feeding tubes and they are classified by site of insertion and intended use. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/feeding_tube) Facing this problem as the client Deana, I would want to exercise the ethical principle 'autonomy" which is defined as self determination or freedom to choose and also I would like to exercise my rights as a patient. First and foremost, one has to be aware of the patient's rights which are as follows: the right to receive adequate healthcare, the right to have continuous healthcare, the right to refuse treatment, the right to receive information from physicians and to discuss the benefits, risks and costs of appropriate treatment alternatives, the right to make decisions regarding the health care that is being recommended by the physician, the right to be treated with courtesy, respect and dignity while receiving care and to receive a timely and responsive attention to care when needed, the right to make decisions about end of life care and the right to have informed consent. With the presenting issue at hand, as the client involved, I would not want to be pressured by the nursing home to make any harsh decision. I would want to have the freedom of choice(autonomy), in choosing the best option for me at this point in my life. For me to make the right choice, I would like to know what
This ethical scenario presents an 86 year old female with numerous health issues and chronic illnesses. Mrs. Boswell’s advancing Alzheimer’s disease makes it extremely difficult to initiate dialysis, leading her physician to conclude a poor quality of life. The ethical dilemma portrayed in this case is between nonmaleficence and autonomy. Health care workers should focus on promoting the patient’s overall wellbeing and weigh the benefits and risks of the course of action, while also considering what the family declares they want done. Since the patient is deemed unable to make decisions, the goal is to collaborate with family, assess patient quality of life, address prognosis, and establish realistic care goals.
The need for older people to have their autonomy to make a decision and be an active partner in the decision making process must be recognised and is an essential component in person centred care. ‘’The older person and family have the right to make informed decisions about all aspects of their care and the nurse respects the level of participation desired’’ (An Bord Altranais, 2009). Nurses most realise the importance of patients participation in their care and strive to uphold it as a principle of person centred care, ‘’Lack of time and/or restrictions on patients choice and involvement, was listed as the number 1 factor to hinder quality nursing care’’ (An Bord Altranais, 2009). As nurses it is our responsibility to take the time to overcome communication barriers, for example, a hearing or speech deficit. The nurse can opt to use non-verbal communication to facilitate the decision making process for the patient. Patients are entitled to information about every aspect of their care and should be frequently updated. Information about management and prevention of conditions, procedures, assessments and investigations ,diagnosis, treatment, follow on care, referrals and services available to patients( i.e. health, social) should all be disclosed to patient (Department of Health,2001). If they
Good communication with the individual should be enhanced. Both individual and carer must compromise and negotiate to what would benefit most for the individual as long as it is safe. Thorough information should be given and must acknowledge the benefits of their choices. This is a way of recognising rights and choices of the individual. One example is the resident’s choice not to use his/her walking frame. This is one conflict of decision – making. Decision should be tailored to the needs of the resident
Sule stated that, “The Patient Bill of Right adopted by American Hospitals Association states that ‘a patient possesses the right to be informed of the medical consequences of his or her actions and decisions and refuse treatment to the extent permitted by the law’. However, this is true only if the patient is in position to understand the consequences of his treatment. Incompetent, senile patients neither have the correct judgment regarding which treatment is appropriate for them, nor are they in a state of understanding the implications of their treatment. In such case, their willingness to grant or deny consent cannot dictate the course of treatment.” Problem with the Act is being able to find that the patient component enough to make such a call. Another issue that Sule stated was on confidentiality and autonomy. According to Sule, “This is another ethical issue erupting from the conflict of patient's rights and professional ethics in nursing job and profession. The Patient Bill of Right makes it mandatory for the medical practitioners to reveal the form and extent of the ailment along with the course of treatment to be undertaken by the practitioners. However, this law of autonomy clashes with the nursing ethic that the professional should maintain high degree of confidentiality regarding the patient's health and treatment.” This can cause conflicting issues in the NP’s
The nurse in the case study is faced with an ethical and professional, dilemma. How can she be an advocate for her patient Mr. E? Dr G. is proceeding on a course of action or plan of care that is directly contrary to the patients advance directive and his verbalized objections to the course of treatment proposed by the physician and that is concerning for her. There are multiple issues to consider. For the nurse, she needs to think about her code of ethics, her scope of practice and the legal issues regarding advance directives and Durable Power Of Attorney (DPOA). She also needs to consider the patients right to privacy and confidentiality. As with most areas and issues in modern healthcare the statues can be
In my opinion, I feel that every person should be given the best medical care available and the opportunity to live a long life expectancy. As an assistant, I must make sure that the hospital follows the proper ethical guidelines and ensure that the client is aware of her choices and what is available to her as well as her rights. I will also make sure that the patient knows what the health home offers her as an elderly woman who lives alone and is in need of some assistance. Health homes in today’s society have begun to take hold in several states via the integrated care delivery models. This has been occurring in the U.S. who continues to search for modern ways to control the costs of health care. Some states have progressively become labs
The healthcare system places emphasis on involving patients in their plan care throughout the disease or healing process. Nurses and other members of the healthcare team are responsible to ensure that the competent patient has the right to refuse any medical treatment. Patients can have an active voice in their treatment throughout their disease process by clearly stating their treatment requests in an advanced directive. Patients who file advanced directives are warranting their current wishes are met in the event that they are no longer able to make decisions for themselves. However, an advanced directive (AD)
Millions of people wish there was a magic pill to stay young and healthy forever, but we all know that’s just an illusion. Many people are being compelled to depend on others for twenty four hour care as their health fails them. Taking care of people should be a privilege to caregivers and they should show the utmost respect to whom they are caring for at the time. Family members may have a hard time placing their love ones in a nursing home due to the fact that they may not receive the proper care they are entitled to. Among different people they have experienced personal problems while staying in different nursing homes. Neglect and abuse are the top problems, some residents face when they have to reside in a nursing home. There
Principles of ethics prohibited for nurses to courses any kind of harm to the patients.accorfong to American Nurse Association (2015) nurses should do good, prevent any harm, and respect patient’s autonomy. This is one the reasons why is too hard for healthcare professional to deal with this issue. And it is even more difficult when the issue involve a patient who don’t have a living will in place. When patient s condition declined and experiences poor prognosis I do believe that is the time for all healthcare who are involving in patient care to sit down with family members or durable power of attorney and discuss about life sustain treatment based on the organization policy.to void conflicts between family member and nurses or physicians or family to family most of places they prefer for a social personnel to discuss this issue with family members
Ethical considerations that Mr. Y should weigh before agreeing to authorize the use of the ventilator for his brother should be that wishes be respected and followed, consider all the options given to him by the healthcare team, receive guidance to assist in addressing decision with the end goal being honoring his brothers choice when he was still capable of making them.
The principle of autonomy states; “individuals have the right to make choices about their own lives” (Kozier et al, 2010.p.79). In health care, this means health care providers must honour the person’s right to choose methods or approaches to diagnosis or treatment (Kozier et al, 2010). Moreover, by not giving the client, the right to make her own decision this could cause anxiety and physiological effect to both parties. Which disregard the World Health Organization (WHO), definition of quality end of life care as the "active total care of patients whose disease is not responsive to curative treatment" (Sepúlveda, Marlin, Yoshida, & Ullrich, 2002). This definition includes meeting the psychological, social, and spiritual needs for both patients and families (Sepúlveda et al, 2002). In addition, the nurse did not put the beneficence principle in action, which “is the obligation to do good” (Kozier et al, 2010, p.80). Nurses have a duty to implement actions that benefit their client’s best interest (Kozier et al, 2010). It lays the groundwork for trust that society places in nursing professional, and provides nursing’s context and justification (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2002). This principle seems straight forward, but it is actually very complex. Should we determine what is good- by subjective, or by objective, means? So, when people disagree about what is good, whose opinion counts? In this case, the client, and not the family because she has the
This issue should be highlighted during the decision making process to ensure the peoples subconscious are being used for what they consented to – healthcare decisions whether fully functional or incapacitated – and nothing else that could cause harm to them or others. This issue also ensures to the patient that their wishes are met despite what their family may want, as the providers would follow the wishes determined by the copy of the
Patient autonomy or decision-making forms the basis of ethics in nursing and clinical management (Delmar, 2013). However, there is a lot of confusion about patient autonomy as there are no clear clinical directives or standards on clinician authority to create, use and revoke patient autonomy (Hobbs and Elliot, 2009). One of the primary concerns in decision-making is patient capacity and this could be related to patient mental capacity, emotional or cognitive status, physical and psychiatric diagnoses as well as situational and medical condition.
As people age the have a tendency to lose their independence in more than one-way. One of the major ways can be in the making their own decisions about their care and what they want for care. Family