The most well-known controversial issue about hospital ethics pertains to withholding, or proceeding with, treatment for children. Every day, thousands of children are forced to undergo unnecessary procedures that not only lengthen their lives by a little, but cause them immense pain. Whether or not the child is withheld, or followed through, with procedures is mainly decided by the parents, with little decision from medical staff. Even though a decision is always made, both parents and medical staff are left wondering if their decision was the right one. Wondering if there could have been a better procedure that would have shown a better prognosis. Deciding from what is right and wrong for the patient is the main ethical issue that is flooding hospitals around the world. …show more content…
The Ethicist who wrote this piece stated that the doctors and nurses recommended that a “Do No Resuscitate order be placed” (pg. 504, Para. 3) to spare the child from being forced into painful procedures that would only extend her life by a few days. All of the nurses, doctors, and other medical staff agreed with the decision to withhold treatment from the child since every procedure that was done make her body weaker and weaker. Everything had been done to try and save her but every procedure ended the same conclusion, she would only have a few more days before she crashed again. The medical staff wanted to let the child die peacefully and without pain, and did what they could to persuade the parents on this as well, but the medical staff’s beliefs were overruled by the parents’ right to make a
Nurses are facing many legal or ethical dilemmas in their career. Nurses should combine knowledge of ethical and legal aspects of health care and professional values into nursing practice. It is very essential to know what kind of dilemmas nurses may face during their profession and how they have been dealt with in the past.
The topic of ethics is prevalent in health care and addresses a broad range of topics in nursing. In almost every interaction with a patient there could be a situation that may bring up the question of ethics. Fortunately, there is the realization that placing the nurse in the care of a patient, may put the medical personnel in an environment where the ethics are questioned. There are whole departments dedicated to advising nurses in these situations. There are also ethic committees to help guide you when you find yourself in a situation that may question your practice or circumstances.
“Be the one who nurtures and builds. Be the one who has an understanding and forgiving heart one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them.” Nursing is more than just doing assessments and giving medications; it is going beyond that to know what is right or wrong, what can and cannot be done, and what is considered harming the patients rather than doing them good. In nursing, there is a fine line between what is considered to be negligence and beneficence. According to Marquis (2017), “Ethics is the systemic study of what a person’s conduct and actions should be with regard to self, others human beings, and the environment (pg. 83), on the other hand, it does not necessarily mean that their
In the case of Jani McMath, her parents, family, the court, as well as the medical staff, are all faced with the ethical dilemma of whether or not to pull the plug. Who has her best interest in mind? How do we know? We would assume her family because they are the closest ones to her, but the truth is that McMath is incapable of making the decision for herself; therefore, whether her life is preserved or not is left in the hands of others. She could have wanted the plugged pulled; then again, she could have wanted her family to be strong and continue to fight for her life.
Nurses are faced with ethical dilemmas on a daily basis, each situation being unique and requiring the nurse to set aside their own values and beliefs in order to properly care for their patients. Situations requiring nurses to make an ethical decision are diverse and dynamic; the values set out by the College of Nurses of Ontario code of ethics remains the same. Therefore, all decision based on these vales regardless of the setting and circumstances ensure consistent solutions. The scenario involves a woman who was admitted to the NICU due to complications during her sixth month of pregnancy. The patient indicated that no extraordinary measures should be made to save her baby; she became further detached when the baby developed a bleed
This week's discussion concerns that of policy and law of health care and public health. A topic which has great discussion and concerns. Consider no legalities faced if a doctor prescribed the incorrect medication for the flu, and as a result, the patient's condition deteriorates solely because of the misdiagnoses. Another consideration for thought, a patient who was treated for an STD has their personal information available for any unauthorized person to have access to, and as a result, that patients privacy rights were violated. Physicians are bound by the medical decisions they make in treating patients in that their decisions must be precise and causes no further harm to the patient or their family members. "Policies and laws governing the delivery of medical care is governed by the Department of Health and Human
There are many ethical issues in the healthcare field. These issues range from insurance coverage, senior care, childhood immunizations, beneficence, abortion, medicinal marijuana, honesty and medical research (Fritzsche, D., 2004). Today we will discuss the ethical concerns in only one aspect of heath care and that topic is research (Benatar, S., 2000). Medical research is necessary in order to make strides in health care, introduce new medications, to discover new symptoms and disorders and to test new treatment options for current medical problems. Students of medicine, universities and pharmaceutical companies conduct this research primarily. Much of this research is time consuming and costly, therefore obtaining funding is not
Deontology is an ethical theory concerned with duties and rights. The founder of deontological ethics was a German philosopher named Immanuel Kant. Kant’s deontological perspective implies people are sensitive to moral duties that require or prohibit certain behaviors, irrespective of the consequences (Tanner, Medin, & Iliev, 2008). The main focus of deontology is duty: deontology is derived from the Greek word deon, meaning duty. A duty is morally mandated action, for instance, the duty never to lie and always to keep your word. Based on Kant, even when individuals do not want to act on duty they are ethically obligated to do so (Rich, 2008).
The sequencing of the human genome has a new approach to health care in regards to promotion, maintenance, and treatment. Genetic research is defined as a new approach to a better understanding of the genetic components of common diseases: Cancer, diabetes, stroke, and creating new gene-based technologies for screening, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of both rare and common diseases. Nurses are a main aspect within the first line of care, and therefore will contribute fully in genetic-based and genomic-based practice activities such as collecting family history, obtaining informed consent for genetic testing, and administering gene-based therapies. Lea, D, (January 31, 2008). My paper is based on an article Genomics in the public
that a follow-up appointment be made with whoever is monitoring the patient for heart failure prior to discharge.
The first issue is that an unmanageable workload contributed to the clinical incident to Mr. Lee. Although excessive workload might lead to clinical incidents, the way of management was more important for this case. Professional issue It is a responsibility for registered nurses that they need to grasp the situation accurately and make the best choice in order to ensure patient safety (NMBA 2008b, p. 2). In this case, close clinical observation was essential for all the patients in the ward.
Throughout history there has been many ethical dilemmas that have resulted in change, and many that have still not been resolve. These dilemmas often result in controversial issues arising, and both sides of the spectrum arguing as to which proposed idea is the morally correct one. Today, there is an enormous controversy in the ethical dilemma involving child care. This issue revolves around whether the views of the parents should be upheld when their child is in danger medically. To further assess the impact of this ethical dilemmas, a case study involving the treatment implemented on a child by a physician while opposing the views and wishes held by the parents will be analyzed in terms of the ethics of the situation, the stakeholders, values,
Conducting quality research requires the researcher to perform within both ethical and legal guidelines. “Ethics is the study of right and wrong” (Houser, J., 2012, pg.50). Ethics provide the avenue for decision making and are guided by the researcher’s integrity. Legal guidelines provide direction to the researcher by specifying what is required by law to conduct research. As a nurse researcher, it is an ethical duty to advocate for patients when incompetent, unethical or illegal practices are observed.
Nurses rely on personal knowledge and their professional skills to provide ethical care (Creasia & Friberg, 2011). In everyday practice, nurses must balance the needs of their patients against those of the organization, society and themselves. They strive to deliver the highest level of care for patients, but adjusting for limited organizational and personal resources often requires difficult decisions. This paper explores the following scenario suggested by Maville and Huerta: “You are a nurse providing home care to a mother, and you suspect child abuse after observing the mother’s reaction to her child” (as cited by Arizona State University, 2014). When faced with a moral dilemma, a competent nurse incorporates ethical, bioethical and legal considerations. In the proposed story, incorporating the nursing ethics of advocacy, beneficence, nonmaleficence and collaboration will guide the nurse towards an appropriate and legal course of action.
The following scenario explores the legal and ethical decisions involved with a pediatric patient. A six year old boy suffering from Sickle cell anemia is brought to the hospital with a crisis. During a sickle cell anemia crisis, red blood cells are damaged and they are unable to deliver oxygen to the body. The standard treatment is oxygen, hydration, blood replacements and exchange transfusion (Anita, 2006). The pediatric patient was admitted in critical condition and a blood transfusion is necessary. Parents stated they want to save their child and will accept any type of treatment except for blood products.