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The Ethical And Legal Issues Of Mrs. Mcgoldrick's Case

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The Ethical and Legal Issues of Mrs. McGoldrick’s Case:
An Analysis Using the Four-Box Method
The case of Mrs. McGoldrick is one related to key ethical issues of dignity in dying, patient refusal of potentially life-sustaining care, and navigating conflicting interests among family members, clinicians, and patients. An analysis of Mrs. McGoldrick’s case, using the four-box method (Medical Indications, Patient Preferences, Quality of Life, and Contextual Features) adapted from Jonsen, Siegler, and Winslade’s guidebook on clinical ethics, is below (1).
Medical Indications Mrs. McGoldrick is an 81-year-old patient with chronic diseases - like diabetes and repeated heart attacks - and was admitted to the hospital for a urinary tract infection. She was also cited to have indications of …show more content…

McGoldrick’s case. Her case focuses on two sides of one coin: living with dignity and dying with dignity. From a principlism perspective, there is tension between respecting patient autonomy – assuming decision-making capacity – and beneficence, from a clinical standpoint (9). Treatment from a ‘best-interest’ and dignity perspective differs among the various stakeholders in the case, where the family and physician believe potentially life-sustaining options must be pursued, though the patient outwardly refuses those treatments. The ethics of Mrs. McGoldrick’s wish to die and refuse treatment hinges largely upon whether she has decision-making capacity. Recommendations for Mrs. McGoldrick may be to document her ‘wish to die’ and refusal of PEG tube insertion in writing, as well as to speak with Dr. Misenti about alternative treatment options, such as palliative care or hospice care, to prioritize her comfort and relief of suffering (10,11). Bolstering social support and speaking with Regan and Emily to engage them in her care may also be an option that may ultimately sway Mrs. McGoldrick’s decision to

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