Looking through the eyes of the
Looking through the eyes of the
The case study goes as such: Mr. Martinez was a seventy-five year old COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) patient. He was in the hospital because of an upper respiratory tract infection. He and his wife had already requested that CPR should not be performed if he required it and a DNR is placed in his charts. While in his room on third floor, being maintained with antibiotics, fluids, and oxygen and seemed to be doing better. However, Mr. Martinez’s oxygen was inadvertently turned up, causing him to go into respiratory failure. This scenario in my opinion causes for drastic measures and I personally feel like his wishes should be overthrown by what the caring physician sees ethically and morally right. The doctor should look at all the circumstances in front of themselves and make an ethical decision. Mr. Martinez was previously being treated and had been improving. Although some may argue that he already has a disease that could be terminal. Looking at the bigger picture of the situation that he was being treated for the upper respiratory infection and he was progressing. I believe he should be transferred to intensive care so that his oxygen level can be monitored and his respiratory failure be treated by a ventilator.…
The morals involved here is the patient’s right to refuse care if she chooses and also the right to die. The moral principles of ethics involved also in this case are: Beneficence- act of doing good, demonstrating kindness, showing compassion, and helping others; Non-maleficence- avoiding the infliction of harm; Justice- the duty to be fair in the distribution of risks and benefits, and; Autonomy- recognizing an individual’s right to make his or her own decisions.…
The root of the argument stems from the lack of a decisive role that is responsible for making decisions when faced with conflicting moral issues. The doctors felt that an agreement with the mother regarding treatment should be followed until, according to their best judgment, she is no longer capable of making the decision on her own. The doctor is put in an ambiguous position to make a final decision since it would seem that his professional opinion is secondary to the choices of the mother. It was argued that a spouse or parent could make the decision at this point, rather than the doctor, especially if it were concerning the care for the as-yet unborn child. However, the rights of the unborn child are called into question if the choice may potentially cause the death of the child. At this point, the doctors looked towards legislative measures to not only protect themselves from legal action, but to establish some sort of precedent to follow. However, even the judge was hesitant to take on the role and stated that it should be judged on a case by case basis. Whether they maintain the agreement with the mother, or alter treatment to save the child, the doctors will always be in conflict when determining where the doctor/patient relationship lies and when it is appropriate to take action against the will of the…
Witnesses believe in strict and literal interpretation of the Bible, which leads them to reject some aspects of modern medical care (Doyle, 2002). Medical professionals have discussed in open forums ethical decisions they are required to make while taking care of a dying patient who refused to accept a blood transfusion. Data suggests they struggled to relate to someone who would take some blood products, but not others, and who are willing to risk death over a red blood cell transfusion.…
Ethical health care topics vary in the news and media currently in the healthcare field. Many health care issues can involve the patient’s care, or the policies set forth by healthcare regulatory agencies. In many instances, ethical issues can arise during a patient’s treatment when religious or cultural discrepancies arise that would affect the manner in which the patient receives their care. Ethical issues such as religious beliefs that may cause the patient to decline life-saving treatment can create conflict between not only the patient’s personal values, but also those of the caregiver proving treatment.…
I viewed the suicide tourist video open-mindedly and aware of the 1990 Patient Self-Determination ACT (PSDA). Self-Determination is a very difficult topic of discussion because it is closely tied to one’s culture, beliefs and religious practices. The conversation does not usually occur until after a loved one has become terminally ill and cannot make that decision for themselves, placing the decision in the hands of family members. Mr. Ewert stated that people may think that he is playing God by making the decision to end his life and yet, he would not be alive now if it warrant for technology keeping him alive and that doctors and nurses play God every day when saving per-mature babies and performing transplants. Mr. Ewart’s decision to…
This article present a case in which the patient and the family made a decision in favor of resuscitation that ran contrary to the physician’s medical judgement. The author argues that, where a patient request for treatment in conflict with physician’s responsibility to provide what he or she believes to be good medical care, a resort to autonomy alone is insufficient. The principal of autonomy, which allow patient to refuse any procedure or choose among different beneficial treatment, does not allow them to demand nonbeneficial and potentially harmful procedure. This is important because CPR should not be considered an alternative to be offered by physicians in such cases. Instead, the physician should have listened to the patient’s hopes and fears, reassured him that the physician should would continue to be there and provide appropriate therapy, and, if necessary, refer the patient to psychiatric personnel or clergy.…
I have analyzed this situation from the perspective of a Utilitarian and my own viewpoints which go hand in hand. While others may see this as morally wrong and believe it goes against a physician’s ethical code of conduct, I completely disagree. I find the physicians who have the compassion to help these patients to relieve their suffering for once and for all to be truly inspiring even when so many people will pass judgements and disagree with their decision. As I stated before, doctors have very hard jobs and constantly have people judge and disapprove of their methods and treatments and I find it admirable that they still make the best decisions and take the patients best interests into consideration, even if that means assisting their…
Within the healthcare field, a worker will have to make some ethical decisions. These decisions may be easy, but most will be hard to make. There are certain code of ethics a healthcare worker needs to follow in order to create the best work environment for them and for the patients. These are set so that everyone has an equal understanding of the ethics.…
In this situation, the hospital believes they are doing the right thing even though Mary had requested not to live artificially. In the times that Mary was alive before the accident, she made a conscious decision about the life support system and how that is not something she wants for herself. Mary made that decision and I feel that the hospital would be denying her rights and her requests by keeping her alive. The opposition could argue that perhaps Mary made that decision before she was pregnant. However, my counter argument to that would be that Mary did not change her decision or tell John that she would want life support now that she was pregnant. There is a possibility that she made that decision after getting pregnant. Since that was not clearly stated, it would be wrong to deny Mary’s right and request to be taken off support. To deny her request would be to deny a formerly living individual’s right to life. At this point in time, even though Mary can’t speak for herself anymore, her husband John is able to make these decisions for her and the…
Autonomy is integral to health care; however, promoting and sustaining patient autonomy may be more difficult to enact than is often suggested. According to Hewitt-Taylor (2004), the concept of autonomy becomes more complex when the patient is a child, or an adult who has learning disabilities or a mental health problem that might be considered to impinge on their ability to make informed decisions. An adult with a mental health problem, who is unable to function autonomously has to rely on their caregivers and POAs for their care. In situations like this, health care staff need to be aware of the legal as well as moral and ethical issues involved when facilitating autonomous choices for their patients (Edgar, et al., 2001). The distinction…
Promoting patient’s autonomy is showing a sense of respect the patients. This can be violated very easy, it is the nurse responsibility to provide some sort of safety to prevent this from occurring. By educating the patients is recommended in all healthcare environment. When these patients understand that they have the right to their medical information, and also they have right to make any decision, they will be able to advocate themselves and prevent it. Educating the patient as a preventive measure that will also prevent any ethical dilemma advanced practice nurses’ moral distress. As a result, this can be done by explaining to the patient all the legal aspect while they are in the hospital. Another recommendation that could be made to prevent the violation of patient veracity and autonomy which may resolve advanced practice nurses’ moral distress in the dilemma, the healthcare providers should always encourage patients to seek care that promotes the individual patient’s medical interests. It might be thought that this approach fails to respect patient autonomy.…
The Patient Self-Determination Act gives the patient the right to make their own decisions about their health care. The medical facilities are required to provide the patient with informed consent information about these rights and the state laws on legal choices before they can be seen by the physician. Some examples of these types of advance directives are DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) Order, Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, Health Care Proxy, Living Will, and Organ or Tissue Donation.…
The ethical issues that arise for ones that are for life-sustaining treatment are potential recovery, sanctity of life, personal request, and professional physician integrity. Although there are often minimal benefits seen with the use of extreme measures to prolong life, the potential recovery is valid reason for patients to continue with life-sustaining treatment. The sanctity of life, which is the belief that people are made in the image of God and their lives are sacred and should be protected and respected at all time, is dependent upon the patient. Patients’ values and beliefs may differ, but if the patient has a “low quality” of life and still believes that their life is sacred, then the ethically correct decision is to continue with life-sustaining treatment. As mentioned previously, due to laws that have been created, patients have the right to choose the care and treatment that is provided to them near the end of life. Therefore, it is seen as unethical if anything or anyone takes that decision away from the patient, which again calls into question professional physician integrity. A physician is reliable for providing exceptional care to the patient and attending to the…
According to (Green & Bowie, 2005,p.10) In 1990, the Patient Self – Determination Act was implemented. This required consumers to be provided with informed consent, information…