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Ethics
Assessment Task 2: Individual Essay

This paper with be focusing on case scenario 3. The patient in this scenario is Jennifer Vaughan, 34. She lives with her partner William, has no children yet. They have two pet dogs. Her parents live an hour drive away and see her father once a week. Her parents have no history of cancer. Jennifer presented to hospital with abdomen pain and fullness. After laparotomy, it was found that Jennifer has carcinoma of right ovary which was followed by right oophorectomy. Three months after her early treatment, she was diagnosed with lymph node metastases on her right groin which means her disease has spread and cannot be cured. Jennifer will now be in palliative care setting, where the main aim is symptom management and deliver quality life. This concept includes many subjective elements such as physical, emotional and social function, cultural, attitudes to illness, patient’s daily living activities including communication with the family. However, in the following paragraphs, issues relating to Jennifer’s situation such as physiological, psychological, social and spiritual will be discussed briefly. The issues mentioned above will also demonstrate the complication of Jennifer’s experience and how the Registered Nurse (RN) is effectively able to care holistically while making sure that all care provided is of high ethical standard.

Firstly, from the case scenario, the physiological issue of Jennifer include symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fatigue, anorexia, weight loss, constipation and difficulty in ambulating. According to Farrell and Dempsey (2011) the symptoms of ovarian cancer include increasing abdominal pain, pelvic pressure, bloating, indigestion, flatulence, gastrointestinal symptoms. The assessment and management of pain in the palliative care setting is the most significant role of RN in order to provide comfort and ease the death of the person, at the same time maintaining the dignity of the



References: Campion, B., (2010). Spiritual care at the end of life : the influence of dame Cicely saunders. Canadian catholic bioethics institute 8(6). Retrieved from http://www.ccbi-utoronto.ca/documents/bioethic_matters/2010/BMVol8number6_SpiritualCare_Cicely%20Saunders.pdf Craven, O. (2000). Palliative care provision and its impact on psychological morbidity in cancer patients.International Journal of Palliative Nursing, 6(10), 501-507. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Farrell, M. & Dempsey, J. (2011). Smeltzer & Bare’s textbook of medical- surgical nursing (2nd ) Philadelphia :Lippincott William & Wilkins Ferrell, B., Levy, M., & Paice, J. (2008). Managing pain from advanced cancer in the palliative care setting. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 12(4), 575-581. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Legg, M. (2011). What is psychosocial care and how can nurses better provide it to adult oncology patients. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 28(3), 61-67. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Lockwood-Rayermann, S. (2006). Survivorship Issues in Ovarian Cancer: A Review. Oncology Nursing Forum, 33(3), 553-562. doi:10.1188/06.ONF.553-562 Lynch, B., & Sarazine, J. (2006). A guide to understanding malignant bowel obstruction. International Journal of Palliative Nursing, 12(4), 164. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Mystakidou, K., Parpa, E., Tsilika, E., Kalaidopoulou, O., & Vlahos, L. (2002). The families evaluation on management, care and disclosure for terminal stage cancer patients. BMC Palliative Care, 13-8. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Searle, C., & McInerney, F. (2008). Creating comfort: Nurses ' perspectives on pressure care management in the last 48 hours of life. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession, 29(2), 147-158. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

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