The Frontline special on Being Mortal, written by Atul Gawande, shows the difficult side of healthcare that many doctors struggle with, how to confront death with patients. He brings light to topics like terminal illness and facing mortality. Atul Gawande is an oncologist whom, like many doctors, still wonders how to tell patients that their treatment is no longer working. He decided to collaborate with different physicians to gain a better understanding of how to approach the situation.
End of Life care This important documentary does not come close to doing justice to Gawande 's video: Being Mortal. The book is rich with excellent examples of doctors, nurses and family members doing their level best assisting others to live the fullest and richest lives possible right up until and including the very end of their lives. As Dr. Atul Gawande would say, the point isn 't to strive for a good death but rather to have the best possible life that is congruent with one 's own values; and to make medical decisions and choices accordingly. By living each day in harmony with one 's goals and values, one is likely to have a good death.
Gill argues that keeping a person healthy cannot be a physician’s only moral duty because in cases of terminal ill patients, they can no longer be treated or healed (372). If a physician’s only duty were to heal patients then they would not tend to the terminally ill because there would be nothing else that they could do, which is something that most people would find to be morally wrong (Gill, 373). No one would be okay with a doctor not helping a person at all who has received a terminal sentence. So instead of promoting health in this case, the physicians must find a way to reduce the suffering of the patient. This means that the physician should be able to reduce the suffering in the way that the patient asks for.
Kevin t. Keith addresses his argument on why doctors should should stop futile treatment in a persistent tone.which is addressed to the healthcare network and the families of terminally ill patients. He presented a fair argument with questionable facts, ok anecdotes, and substandard
In his book, entitled Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science, author Atul Gawande explains what gastric bypass surgery is and also states that it is one of the strangest surgeries he has ever performed. In stating this, Gawande brings up the question of a human’s control over appetite. This paper will consider Atul Gawande’s discussion of adult obesity, including the question of will power. Also, I will explain Gawande’s position that adults have no self control when it comes to their appetites.
Better by Atul Gawande, one aspect that caught my attention that makes me want to do something better in my work setting is patient negligent. When you negligent something, although you may not notice it, it is still consider negligent. When Atul spoke about Peter doctor not noticing a tumor in his x-ray, and later Peter development lymphoma (Gawande, 2007), that is consider negligent. Working at an Adult Day Health center, there are many situations that you hear from clients telling one another how they are unhappy about their kids treating them or simply not getting along with his/her kids. Hearing these stories, it is hard not wanting to do something about it.
The ethical principle of autonomy provides for respect for the patient’s autonomy to make decisions and choices concerning their life and death. Respecting the patient’s autonomy goes against the principles of beneficence and non-maleficence. There also exists the issue of religious beliefs the patient, family, or the caretaker holds, with which the caretaker has to grapple. The caretaker thus faces issues of fidelity to patient welfare by not abandoning the patient or their family, compassionate provision of pain relief methods, and the moral precept to neither hasten death nor prolong life.
Atul Gawande’s book, “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End,” explores different themes such as, aging, death, and the mishandling of both aging and death by the medical profession’s. This book also addresses what it means to live well near the end of life. It is not just to survive, not just to be safe, not just to stay alive as long as the medical technology allows, but, according to the author it is about what living truly means to an individual. The author describes that the idea of “Being Mortal” developed as he watched his elderly father go through a steep decline in his health and the eventual death. He soon realized that during his medical education and training he was never taught how to help his patients with managing
Yet in modern times, with the advent of medical progress, the process of death has changed, and by allowing the dying to linger longer on various forms of life support, technological advancement has given Western culture a form of denial, an uninformed assurance that death can now be transcended for an indefinite period. This is a dangerous turn, when we accept that breathing is the same as living. Instead, those close to death should be allowed maximum
It brought to my awareness both the limitation and the capacity of medicine. Although there was no medical intervention that could cure the diseases of those terminal patients, their quality of life was improved by an outstanding team of doctors, nurses and volunteers. This awareness helped reconcile myself to the fact that certain things, such as death and terminal illness, can not be avoided or changed. By viewing death as a natural part of life, I will be able to offer my dying patients the best care possible while also understanding my limitation as a physician and a human being.
Parsons shares the same views that the future society’s ability to have control over who dies and when is wrong. He believes that the citizens of the society should have the right to live a prolonged healthy life, and that medicine is the solution, not
Health Care givers should be aware of the issues on what to say and how to act,give emotional support,and when to use hospice care. An article stated,”Several scholars listed the implications of spirituality,including preserving the patient’s hope,helping the patient find meaning in life and death,and helping the patient find spirit.. ”(Qiaohong Guo and Cynthia S Jacelon,An integrative review of dignity in end-of-life care.)What this means is it is there to help the patient have hope,remember the good moments in life,and find the feeling of completeness so they can pass on from the physical world with no regrets. Healthcare givers can encourage their patients without giving false hope.
' Practitioner can play a role in improving the quality of life of a terminally-ill patient in both pharmacological aspects and non-pharmacological aspects. After all, what remains in a patient 's mind is the care and love given by practitioner, not the medical information. Something as simple as a warm-hearted pat on the shoulder or a word of assurance can enlighten their day. If we can treat every patient wholeheartedly, as if he/ she is our friend, it makes significant difference in patient life. Conclusion Hepler & Strand define pharmaceutical care as the responsible provision of medicine therapy for the purpose of improving a patient
PALLIATIVE CANCER ETHICS AND CHALLENGES Provided this backdrop of palliative care in India, it is important to address the difficulty of imitating Western models of palliative care. In general, palliative cancer care has become a requisite for physicians while formulating a tailored plan of patient care. These developments prompt a review of some of the central ethical issues particular to palliative care. These issues such as relief of pain and suffering, autonomy and consent, and multi-specialist care, are important points of consideration for all physicians caring for patients regardless of the cause of their suffering and whether or not these physicians are specialists in palliative medicine or not. At the same time, the Indian palliative care environment presents numerous challenges to these Western ethical principles of palliative care.
This essay provides insight into the experiences and feelings of the process of dying. The author uses materials collected from many interviews and seminars with terminally ill patients. The essay proposes to the reader that rather than ignoring and avoiding dying patients, it is important to talk to the patient about his/her situation. Death is not a subject that people are comfortable talking about it and dying patients are not free to share their feelings with even loved ones. Dying patients feel lonely and isolated, and the author suggests that people should change how they treat the dying so the patients can feel sense of comfort and peace at the end of their lives.
