Preview

Brief Summary: Only The Truth In The Healthcare System

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1578 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Brief Summary: Only The Truth In The Healthcare System
Only the Truth
Ashley Smith
English Composition – ENGL 150
Instructor Madeleine Wakefield
Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Only the Truth Truthfulness for a patient enables effective goal attainment while in the healthcare system. However, according to Zahedi (2011) states, “not telling the truth about cancer consisted of: worry that patients could not take the emotional impact, concern about not being able to manage the patients ' emotional reaction after learning the truth, and protecting patients from harm” (p. 4). Yet, according to Bok (2007), “ an overwhelming majority of patients do want to be told the truth, even about grave illness, and feel betrayed when they learn that they have been misled” (p.489). Doctors
…show more content…
Bok (2007) writes they consider “whether or not the enter a hospital” (p. 489). Patients that have been told the truth are made more comfortable to practice their spirituality in order to come in contact with a sense of worth when dealing with a terminating prognosis. Rahnama et al (2012) states spirituality, “is a way through which human beings recognize the exalted meaning and value of their lives” (p. 21). Patients that require to enter a palliative care unit rely on being told to truth in order for the conversion to be done with ease. Ingleton et al (2011) indicates, “continuity of care and multidisciplinary collaboration are crucial in order to improve the experience of patients making the transition” (p. 57). Arrangements must be made for a patient once in the stage of end-of-life, to secure unresolved personal affairs. Hash and Netting (2007) writes, “legal rights, financial and property concerns require intentional planning, for once the partner dies it may be too late to rectify ownership issues” (p. 72).The remaining time for a patient is crucial for making decisions about how to establish any preparations to avoid any distress. Conway (2008) indicates that, “emphasizing the inevitability of death in old age as a normal part of human existence and the importance of registration procedures and funeral arrangements” (p. 406). Truthfulness for a patient allows them to have a comfortable …show more content…
(2012). Optimizing palliative and end of life care in hospital. Nursing Standard, 26(41), 48-56.
O 'Brien, S. (2012). Minors and refusal of medical treatment: a critique of the law regarding the current lack of meaningful consent with regards to minors and recommendations for future change. Clinical Ethics, 7(2), 67-72. doi:10.1258/ce.2012.012007
Paulus. S. C. (2008). Palliative care: An ethical obligation. Retrieved from http://scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/medical/palliative.html
Philip, J., Gold, M., Schwarz, M., & Komesaroff, P. (2011). An exploration of the dynamics and influences upon second medical opinion consultations in cancer care. Asia Pacific Journal Of Clinica l Oncology, 7(1), 41-46. doi:10.1111/j.1743-7563.2010.01330.x
Rahnama, M., Khoshknab, M., Maddah, S., & Ahmadi, F. (2012). Iranian cancer patients ' perception of spirituality: a qualitative content analysis study. BMC Nursing, 11(1), 19-26. doi:10.1186/1472- 6955-11-19
Sharma, H., Jagdish, V., Anusha, P., & Bharti, S. (2013). End-of-life care: Indian perspective. Indian Journal Of Psychiatry, S293-S298. Doi:10.4103/0019-5545.105554
Slowther, A. (2009). Truth-telling in health care. Clinical Ethics, 4(4), 173-175.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Can you keep a secret? That question could quite possibly contain the most intriguing words uttered between two people! When spoken, they ignite a flame of curiosity within the hearer that will not be extinguished until the sacred secret is whispered. An explicit trust is expected with such a disclosure; a trust that, when broken, can destroy a relationship. When that “secret,” or confidence, is exchanged between a patient and healthcare provider, however, a whole new level of discretion is required. This paper will explore the meaning of confidentiality in the healthcare setting, define the meaning of a breach of that confidentiality, and determine when it is ethical for a healthcare provider to break a patient’s confidence.…

    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    For many years as Americans in our working society, we all hope to one day earn and save up enough money till we can reach our ultimate goal: retirement. Once we retire we assume the expression of “smooth sailing from here on out.” We assume that we can count on not only the money we have saved up, and a fraction of our previous regular governmental salaries, for those who are retired eligible military, as a stable monetary income. If we find ourselves in need of medical assistance, we look to Medicare and Medicaid. Unfortunately, for those of us who haven’t quite reached our golden age, we may not all be entitled to reap tomorrow, some of the benefits of today.…

    • 906 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Forrest, L., RMT. (2011). Supportive Cancer Care at the End of Life: Mapping the Cultural…

    • 145 Words
    • 1 Page
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rather than seeking a cure as with traditional western medical practices, hospice and palliative care puts an emphasis on the quality of life by concentrating on symptom, pain, and stress reduction to alleviate patient suffering through the use of a multidisciplinary approach. This medical approach to patient care is deemed appropriate for patients with acute and chronic diseases, as well as for patients at the end of their life. While the palliative care treatment methodology seeks to relieve symptoms without providing a curative effect on the underlying disease or cause, hospice care addresses only those who are considered terminal, that is, with a life expectancy of less than six months. With respect to advanced disease progression, concerns pertaining to physical, emotional, spiritual, and social issues are addressed with regard to the patient and their loved ones.…

    • 293 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nurses, for instance, are often confronted with ethical dilemmas when they interact with patients suffering from life threatening diseases (Snyder, 2002). The demoralizing effects of these diseases are devastating to the nurses, the patients, and the patients’ families. Nurses, therefore, may choose to facilitate a dignified death over preserving life. In such a case, it is essential for nurses to recognize their own feelings of fear, sadness, and discouragement. They should, therefore, understand the influence these feelings can have on their clinical decision making process (Snyder,…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Theories surrounding the understanding and meaning of death tend to focus on either religion or medicine. Religious attitudes to death are more abstract, while the medical world attempts to separate the living from the dead and the ill from the healthy, providing rationality in the face of demise (Seale 1998, p. 75). Seale (1998, p. 76) describes religion as a means of relieving death anxiety for the living; explaining that those who believe in an afterlife have a less dramatic relationship with death. Harding, Flannelly, Weaver and Costa (2005, p. 253) substantiate this idea with findings that show significantly less death anxiety and considerably more death acceptance amongst religious groups. Moreover Freud (cited in Koenig, 2001, p. 98) sates that “only religion can give meaning to life”. In contrast Seale (1998, p. 75) explains the medicinal outlook on death in two distinct veins, the first being the “best hope” for those who are suffering and are close to death and the second being a “reasonable account” for why all people must die. In addition Seale (1998, p. 77) places medicine and death in direct opposition stating that medicine seeks to cure the “natural death”. Contrastingly, Zola (2011, p. 487) states that the role of medicine within death is not concerned with saving lives, but instead with the controlling of terminally ill or elderly patients. This thought is ripe throughout work surrounding palliative care (see Conrad 1992), however some scholars see the implementation of medical care as simply providing support for those on the verge of passing (Zimmerman & Rodin, 2004, p. 122). In summary, both religious and medicinal approaches to understanding death by the living are still both extremely popular, however the array of works which document…

    • 1519 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nurse Practitioner Model

    • 1818 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Hospice can be described as a philosophy of care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient’s symptoms while providing emotional and spiritual support for them and their family (Meirer, McCormick, & Lagman, 2015). The hospice model of care focuses on improving quality of life rather than prolonging it, and holistically embraces the principles of dying with comfort and dignity. This model uses an interdisciplinary team to develop an individualized plan of care that addresses all aspects of care and is based on the patient’s goals and cultural values (Meirer, McCormick, & Lagman,…

    • 1818 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Each patient has their own set of values that are important to them, their own perspectives on life and death, their own belief system, and their own personal needs. According to one of my patients (Anna), holistic communication is the most important to her because she feels a connection with a nurse that is attentive to her emotional needs. “I know that I am terminally ill, however I do not want to be defined by my illness. I appreciate the time nurses take to sit down and really listen to me. I need to share my thoughts on life, death, fears, and also my hopes (Anna, 2011). This is an example of “a caring moment”, in which the individual experiences the nurse’s presence as authentic, caring, compassionate, and sincere.…

    • 1179 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Spirituality plays a vital role in every person’s life, especially during times of sickness. Spirituality is very personal. Peoples’ faith and religious beliefs aid them in handling stressful situations. Some of the positive impacts of spirituality are better coping skills, reduced anxiety, and the alleviation of the fear of death, and the promotion of relaxation and health. Adequate knowledge of spiritual diversity, the availability of trained Chaplains, and educated, trained nurses are essential to provide holistic care to the patient during their critical time. Spiritual assessment…

    • 2138 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    There spiritual believes will be discussed with the family and the patient when they coming into the care home and all this information will be recorded in the patients care plan, this will prevent anything going wrong when the patient does pass away so there will be no assumptions on what has to be…

    • 2563 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    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. A legal requirement of end of life care is that the wishes of the individual, including whether CPR should be attempted, as well as their wishes how they are cared for after death are properly documented. This means that their rights and wishes even after death are respected.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Assisted Suicide Thesis

    • 1793 Words
    • 8 Pages

    End of life means the last hours of life or any period in the last year of life for a person with chronic illness. People in the last years of life require health and social care from health institutions and at home to ensure smooth transitions. End-of-life includes Palliative care. Palliative care focuses on pain management, other symptoms and providing psychological and emotional support to the affected patients and the people close to them. The main aim of end-of-life care is to provide support for the people who have advanced progressive and incurable illnesses to live well until the time of death. Care can be delivered by different people each with a role to play in the affected individuals. There is family, friends, and specialist in palliative care. End-of-life care is important and should be easy to…

    • 1793 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nobody wants to die, but death is an inevitable and complex phenomena. To say goodbye to loved one is always difficult. In some cases, it is harder when death comes sooner than later by some serious diagnosis. I think the most important point that a health-care professional needs to consider on the subject of death, dying or grieving is to respect the wishes of patients and families. Health-care professionals should provide training and education about death, dying, and bereavement to the families. Also, healthcare providers should be familiar with the ethics and cultures of the patients and families which they belong to. Death, dying or grieving processes can be culturally or traditionally different among patients. “Some physicians can keep…

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The goal was to give nurses the opportunity to recognize feelings of grief and loss by identifying ways to renew their personal strengths and well-being. The techniques used was spirituality, music, yoga and even relaxation. This intervention also promoted physical health, development of appropriate work-life balance, seek professional help when needed, and recognize the positive impact nurses have on patients and families. According to Potter et. al., “although it is sometimes difficult to find the appropriate time to discuss religion and spirituality in hospital settings, nurses need to assess what is important to spiritual well-being” (p.111). It is pivotal for nurses to address their feelings, because assessing patients who are fighting for cancer may cause unrecognized…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On End Of Life Care

    • 1047 Words
    • 5 Pages

    End of life care is one of the most taboo topics in American society as it requires those involved to acknowledge that their lives will eventually come to an end. Planning for such an outcome can be difficult but ultimately it is necessary in order to save others from dealing with the burden of end of life care while unprepared. As a nurse it is especially important to have a firm grasp of the many different factors that weigh in decisions related to end of life care and be ready to assist both the patient and his or her family in any way needed when that time may come. A careful examination of the resources available in a community to assist with this care, the gaps in care prevalent in American society today, the cultural…

    • 1047 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays