End Of Life Care Case Study

As I strive to be an ethical leader, there are several virtues, values, and theories discussed in this chapter that I apply to my everyday life. For starters, I will admit to being a morally virtuous person, as these are things that comes naturally to me. In my opinion, commitment and fidelity go hand-in-hand; both are of importance to me because when I tell someone I’m going to do something, I like to follow through with it. I am the type of person who doesn’t like to let people down or feel like a failure, so I strive to accomplish everything I set out to do. Both are especially important in the healthcare field because patients are already vulnerable (to whatever scenario they are facing) and it’s not right (or legal, in some cases) to deviate
from what you said you were going to do.
Furthermore, to avoid legal and ethical issues, it is encouraged that a patient has a written advanced directive (prior to becoming completely incompetent) stating what he/she wishes to happen for their end-of-life care.
This removes the burden from not only the patient’s family, but the hospital/caregiver as well. The case with Terri Schiavo proved to be a long battle between her family and her husband in what they said Terri would have wanted. The hospital was under scrutiny for breaching privacy and having full on media coverage discussing Terri’s vegetative state (Roscoe, Osman, & Haley, 2006, pp. 157-158). All hospitals should abide by HIPAA and protect the rights of their patients, regardless of whatever else is going
on.
In the medical field, it’s extremely important to have wisdom.
This is not to be confused with having a know-it-all type of persona, but rather a willingness to grow and learn from life experiences/observations. It also shows a sense of professionalism if you learn from yours and others’ mistakes because it shows that you’re not only resilient, but you also pay attention to your surroundings. A moral value that is sometimes my downfall is compassion, only because I don’t have the right balance of detachment to go along with it. I sympathize so deeply for others to the point where it hurts me psychologically to let go, until I feel like they are completely satisfied or better in some way. Otherwise, it is a great value to have because it makes me aware of how grateful I should be and it fuels my efforts in offering services to others in
need.
Lastly, discernment is vital to the success of healthcare workers (or people in general). You must be able to use your discretion, cancel out negative outside influences, and focus on what needs to be done for a goal to be accomplished. Being selfish or having biases in healthcare will get you nowhere and it is usually detectable when you are doing things for the wrong reasons. I love that these virtues/values apply to everyone in the world. I could only hope that anyone who offers me medical services has my best interest at heart and are morally virtuous individuals. References:
Roscoe, L. A., Osman, H., & Haley, W. E. (2006). Implications of the Schiavo Case for Understanding Family Caregiving Issues at the End of Life. Death Studies, 30(2), 149-161. doi:10.1080/07481180500455632