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Theories on palliative care
Ethical Issues - End of life decisions
Theories on palliative care
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Theories on palliative care
Ethical Issues - End of life decisions
Theories on palliative care
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Recommended: Theories on palliative care
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
The book discusses the need for conversations about end-of-life care, and the importance of having those conversations early. Gawande emphasizes that it is essential to have a plan in place in order to ensure that our wishes are respected, and that our loved ones are taken care of in the way we have chosen. He offers practical advice on how to go about it, including exploring our options, talking to our doctors, and researching reputable care facilities. Gawande also stresses the importance of quality of life when making decisions about our care. He shows that there is more to life than prolonging it, and that quality of life should be a priority when making decisions about care options.
Dominican University Ethical Considerations in End-of-Life Care: The Role of Advanced Directives. Tanya De La Riva THEO 368 02 Dr. Rachel Hart Winter April 17, 2024 End-of-life care plunges deep into ethical questions of the autonomy and consent issues around informed decision-making by the patient regarding his or her own medical treatment. Advanced directives (ADs) are important tools that help in respecting the autonomy of the patient and ensure that end-of-life care is implemented in the spirit of the patient's will. This paper discusses advanced directives in healthcare, highlighting the ethical balance that ADs bring forth between patient and practitioner autonomy. Advanced directives are instruments that enable a person
Advance directives help inform health care providers with the patient’s wishes on how they would like to be treated medically. Advance directives allow a patient to be in control of their treatment plan as well as end of life choices. Therefore, when the time comes, and the patient is no longer able to make these decisions, there is a legal document that has been put in place to carry out the patient’s wishes. Advance directives are critical documents that are often ignored because of the uncomfortableness the subject of end of life care brings up. Advance directives are most common in the geriatric population since people often associate advance directives primarily with end of life decisions.
John found out that he was terminally ill and had 6 months to live, he tells his counselor Ava that he is considering end of life decisions. Ava is worried that her client might not have all the information needed or is in the right place mentally to make a decision. Ava is concerned that her client do not have a definite plan or basic information needed to make a decision. Ava’s action here were not ethical based on the Code of Ethics and the Ethical Principle Screen.
Making readers depressed or necessarily agreeing with his decision is not the intention of his writing, rather, to examine their own life and situation and to contemplate death, as it is inevitable for everyone. The majority of people will more than likely be forced to face a similar choice as Clendinen. Maybe not in the same extreme measure, but the majority of people will need to render a decision for a family member who is no longer capable of making medical decisions for themselves. Clendinen's purpose is being achieved and readers should walk away from this article recognizing exactly what Clendinen’s beliefs are on death, and it ought to generate curiosity about their own thoughts and beliefs. At the very least, talk with their loved one’s before they ever become ill and find out their loved one’s wishes are.
Atul Gawanda is an Author and a surgeon who tackles the toughest part of his profession on aging and dying. He argues that most Doctor’s lack the ability to provide hospice care for their terminally ill patient but instead use medication to comfort them. Doctors are only taught how to save lives but omit the vital part of giving hope to their fatal patient to make their last phase of life a meaningful one. We are often faced with situations, where when we are in our most vulnerable state of health and we go see a Doctor and all he cares about is diagnosing us and finding the right medication to cure us. But does not give us the autonomy to articulate what matters most in our life, to facilitate our healing process and make us feel better about
There were several classes I attended that significantly impacted my views about death, dying, life, and living. However, for me I found it quite difficult to choose just one to highlight since they all seemed to make an impact on my thoughts and ideas in one-way or another. Nonetheless there were three classes that stood out a little bit more then the rest such as the Shifrin event, the class about bullying, and when the guest speaker came to discuss ethical issues during end of life care. From each of these classes I was able to take away some pertinent information about death, dying, life, and living. I found the lecture about ethical issues during end of life care very informative.
Do you feel that taking care of terminally ill or elderly patients has become a major ethical dilemma? Yes, totally it has become an ethical dilemma for both physicians and patient’s families. To begin, end-of-life care can be incredibly expensive and emotionally draining to both the patient and his/her family. Many families take on the “do everything mentality” says, Anthony to prolong the patient’s suffering instead of his or her meaningful life span.
When a patient is at the end of life it is very important to value the patients self dignity and their decisions at the mere end of their lives. The end of life care is to relieve the weight of the patient 's shoulders physically and mentally. I approve of end of life caring. Basic end of life care is summarized by improving the care of quality of life and dignity of the ill person. The important themes to good ethics of end of life care is a combination of human rights,respect,dignified care,and privacy.
The moral issue within this journal is whether euthanasia, the killing of a patient suffering painfully and is doomed for death, is permissible if it is the only alternative option to horrible, excruciating pain. Terminal illness concerns the sanctity of life and the two sense of “life.” Arguments are given that say euthanasia is morally acceptable. For example, when a patient is terminally ill, that increases the amount of unhappiness in the world and to those surrounded by the patient. Therefore, killing the patient would increase the amount of happiness in the world, the key point of utility.
The topic End of life really helped me identify different attitudes about death and dying. This module also make me aware the services and care that is available at the end of life. Espically, I really enjoyed reading the article, “Difficulties in managing the pain at the end of life”. According to Panke (2002), nurses can support/help patients to manage their pain through regular assessment, intervention planning and administration of pharmacologic and nonpharmalogical treatments.
Reflection on End of Life Care (Belkin 253-272) (As I wrote already wrote a reflection on abortion, and the two assigned reading this week were also about abortion, I decided to reread the Belkin assignment due last week and write about that instead…) With the 2016 election, healthcare issues are on the national stage, but the candidate’s talking points are mostly healthcare accessibility. With the success of medical innovations, increased longevity, and the aging baby boomer population, we are faced with the reality that changes in geriatric care will impact the health care industry for decades; this coupled with nursing shortages will pose challenges to the industry. As stated in Belkin, nearly two thirds of lifetime healthcare costs is
The Peaceful End of Life theory is paramount as the authors stated that every individual deserved to die in a peaceful manner with dignity. The theory is empirical based which is applicable to nursing practice in caring for dying patients, assessing interventions, maximizing care, promote dignity and enhancing end of life to be peaceful. According to Moore and Ruland, a good life is simply defined as getting what one wants (Alligood, 2014, p. 702). The approach of given patients what they want or their preference is a practical approach to the end of life care. This theory stands out to me because it fit into my patient’s diagnosis and I believe everyone deserves to die with dignity and peacefully.