Elderly Dilemma Paper
I have much respect for your work with the elderly population. Assisting members of society that have worked hard all their lives and now face new dilemmas, as they reach the end of life, must be both rewarding and challenging. As you pointed out, presenting different options to the patient provides patient empowerment in the highest form. The patient can rest assured that the different options presented, are ones that can be achieved by the resources made available to them. Many people would suffer in an unsafe environment not having any possible way to access any resources. With the help of nurses and other health care members, pulling together, alternative options assure that the patient’s specific needs are met. It can be somewhat frustrating
for the health care provider when all the carefully collected research, energy, and alternatives are rejected by the patient. If the patient is in no threat of abuse or harm, the decisions he or she comes to must be respected. If there is a cause to suspect abuse or harm, the nurse has the ethical obligation of nonmaleficence to protect the patient from harm (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2008). Only when the patient is in an abusive situation or is not in the capable mindset to make decisions, would their patient empowerment rights be relinquished. Otherwise, the ultimate choice rests in the hands of the patient.
for the health care provider when all the carefully collected research, energy, and alternatives are rejected by the patient. If the patient is in no threat of abuse or harm, the decisions he or she comes to must be respected. If there is a cause to suspect abuse or harm, the nurse has the ethical obligation of nonmaleficence to protect the patient from harm (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2008). Only when the patient is in an abusive situation or is not in the capable mindset to make decisions, would their patient empowerment rights be relinquished. Otherwise, the ultimate choice rests in the hands of the patient.