During the process of reflective thinking and outcome based information, the groundwork of the committee’s moral and ethical values is laid. Feelings are turned into objective ideas so the family is empowered and emotionally supported. Personal feelings are left outside the door with full respect of patient rights and probable outcome discussed inside. “The process of critical thinking by the nurse is driven by the patient and family” (Chitty & Black, 2011, p.173).…
-Respect the patients wishes towards involving their family in their healthcare. Emphasize shared-decision making while empowering the patient and family.…
Chronic, terminally ill patients are often cared for in their own homes and the personal perceptions of the health care team can affect the care provided. My perceptions may vary from my patients however I would try to ensure I do not impose my beliefs unto them. Mrs. Thomas a 56 year old woman with recurrent metastasized cancer has a poor prognosis for recovery and is recommended for palliative care. Improvement in the quality of life for Mrs. Thomas can be achieved by determining her perception of quality of life, achieving pain management and assisting with coping mechanisms. It is necessary to develop a holistic nursing action plan, one that will meet her functional ability and provide care when she is no longer able to self care. Mr. Thomas suffers from depression with noticeable change due to the stressors of his wife’s illness and forgetting to take his medications. As a community health nurse intervention is necessary to facilitate his participation in Mrs. Thomas care.…
Ilene, many of the ethical dilemmas faced by nurses could be eliminated if people would take the time to let their family know what interventions they would want in situations like this. End-of-life planning and advanced care directives will increase the quality of life of a dying patient, ease the ethical decisions having to be made by family members, and will ensure that personal wishes will be abided by (Eggertson, 2013, p. E617). Many people talk about what they do and do not want but never write them down. This leaves the family, doctors, and other health care members second-guessing the wishes of the patient whenever they are too ill or sick to make decisions themselves. If your patient had made these decisions earlier and made it…
hospital. This is a form of advocacy in caring for future patients and families. “Nursing’s Social Policy…
Advance Directives are a type of blueprint for individuals to map out their plan of care in case they become mentally unable to make decisions. Two highly published cases involving women who lacked decisional capacity started the ball rolling for what became known as the Patient Self- determination Act of 1990 (Odom, 2012). This act required medical professionals to advice patients of their rights once be admitted as a patient. There are moral, ethical and spiritual factors that come into play when a patient is making end of life plans and keeping the family informed will help with the caring through of those decisions even if the patient can no longer make their own choices. As Nurses it our job to educate and inform the patient of these rights and what choices they have in making these types of decisions. We must obtain written consent and document as much information as possible so that a patient feels we are making choices in their best interest.…
In the clinical setting, nurses also encounter ethical dilemmas regarding patient care that do not appear to have a potentially simple solution (Fant, 2012). Such as, a patient’s family…
Patients often have a limited knowledge of illness and medicine, yet they desire more control over their healthcare. In many healthcare settings, patient care is inconsistent and "patients' quality of life and right to self-determination tend to be ignored" (Bu & Jezewski, 2006, p. 102). Nurses are in a unique position to "support and thereby advocate the patient's interests in the restoration of their health and well-being" (Marshall, 1994, p. 11). However, this is not always put into practice.…
This model focuses on the needs of the patients and their families as driving factors for nursing skills. These concepts are important in this dilemma because this patient clearly needs a provider that has the skills to navigate complicated situations. Nurses can play a vital role in facilitating communication between providers and assisting the patient with social needs, thereby, improving quality of life. Some appropriate patient characteristics in this situation are resiliency, participation in care, and participation in decision making. Resiliency addresses the ability for a patient to return to baseline functioning after an injury (Brewer et al., 2007). Participation in care, takes into consideration a patient preferences and their belief systems (Brewer et al., 2007). Participation in decision-making engages the patient in determining the most appropriate treatment based on available therapeutic options (Brewer et al., 2007). Nursing competencies appropriate here are advocacy, caring practices, and collaboration (Brewer et al.,…
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…
When loved ones are admitted to a critical care area, the effect on the family as a unit can be serious and long term. Traditional rules for this area have not been advantageous to meeting the needs of the client with inclusion of the family and significant others, but have served as a shield for the healthcare staff. Research shows barriers in meeting the needs of family members that require solutions based on evidence rather than tradition.…
There are four elements of ethical issues regarding patient care such as, attentiveness, responsibility, competence and responsiveness. Attentiveness involves nurses being able to recognize the needs of the patient and their families. The development of a close relation between nursing staff and patient through receptibility helps the nurses to be receptive to what the patients need. A nurse has the responsibility to care for their patients and be a support system for their patient. A nurse must exhibit competence while caring for their patients. Nurses must be able to provide individual care. They are obligated to provide care of a patient based on their physical needs, psychological, cultural and religious needs of the patients and their families. Nurses have a duty to ensure that the patients’ needs are being met. If the patient is responding to the nurse in a positive to the treatment that is received. The American Nurse Associations’ provision 3 states that a nurse advocates for the patient, promotes and protects the rights, their health and safety for the patient. Nurses are held accountable and responsible for making good decisions to provide the best care for the patient (American Nurse Association, 2015). Facilities that…
Whilst on placement, working as a Community Nurse, I spent a day with the Palliative Care Specialist Nurse. I understood that palliative care requires an active holistic care of patients who are in the advanced stages of a progressive illness. Management of pain and other symptoms and provision of psychological, social and spiritual support is paramount. The goal of palliative care is achievement of the best quality of life for patients and their families. Many aspects of palliative care are also applicable earlier in the course of illness in conjunction with other treatments.…
In conclusion, this article was interesting. I love the fact that the hospital focused on the nurse’s health by reinforcing the importance of developing coping skills to promote physical health. In order to help others you have to help yourself first. It is important to give nurses the opportunity to have resources that can help cope with the stressors that may occur from the death of patients. Overall, I believe that it is important for nurses to learn the importance of work-life balance, self-care strategies, and communication…
It is evident that social class has an impact or influences how older people are treated in terms of rights and needs in later life. An older person of high class who once had a high occupational status is more likely to accumulate some advantages compared to those of lower social class. It is logic that a person who once had a good job is expected to have more financial security once they retire. For these reasons, they have access to better health care "or other special treatment not available to less favored people who lack connections "(296).Old people belonging to the minority here in the U.S such as Latinos, African-Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans and many more are far less likely to have a good health plan or get admitted…