Nowadays we see many ethical problems exist in the healthcare settings. These include: decision-making in end-of-life care, use of restraints and a lack of resources (Catic, 2017). Today I will discuss Ethical Dilemma in End-of-life Care in geriatric care. Providing end-of-life care is a necessity for nearly all healthcare providers. Slide2 Health care workers are often confronted with difficult ethical situations. One of them is moral distress. Moral distress (MD) develops in situations where health care providers cannot fulfill their moral obligations to patients or fail to follow what they believe to be the correct path of action because of services often out of their control. Moral distress causes feelings of frustration and depression
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This also gives the opportunity to find out their wishes about treatment to be done whether at a nursing home or at a hospital. And about any future decision that has already been made.
• The decisions may involve the choice for:
Organ and tissue donations
Advance directives
Resuscitation
Slide4 An Advance directives are legal documents that allow a person to convey their decisions about end-of-life care ahead of time. It provides a way to communicate patients’ wishes to family, friends, and healthcare professionals, and to avoid confusion later on. ()
Advance Directives may include • Consent to Medical Treatment — This is used when a person who has not issued a directive and needs medical care. Does not include withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment • Declaration for Mental Health Treatment — This document allows providers to make decisions in advance about mental health treatment. • Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates Form — This form is designed to help communicate wishes about medical treatment at some time in the future when unable to make wishes known because of illness or …show more content…
Most practices will involve caring for geriatric patients and those with life-threatening or terminal illnesses where discussions about end-of-life decision making and goals of care are essential. Understanding the differences between do not resuscitate (DNR), palliative care, hospice care, and symptom management in patients at the end of life is a critical skill set. Patients with various cultural backgrounds and personal experiences may present with diverse opinions of what is ethical. The nurse can serve as a resource to ensure that each person feels that their opinion counts.
Slide10
Ethical dilemmas which nurses face are vast in scope. For example, an elderly patient may want to walk without supervision. The nurse desires to promote independence, but the risk of patient injury due to falls may be great. The dilemma is how to balance the contrasting issues. Which is more important- independence or safety? Each patient, family, and healthcare team faces challenges such as this on a daily
This also gives the opportunity to find out their wishes about treatment to be done whether at a nursing home or at a hospital. And about any future decision that has already been made.
• The decisions may involve the choice for:
Organ and tissue donations
Advance directives
Resuscitation
Slide4 An Advance directives are legal documents that allow a person to convey their decisions about end-of-life care ahead of time. It provides a way to communicate patients’ wishes to family, friends, and healthcare professionals, and to avoid confusion later on. ()
Advance Directives may include • Consent to Medical Treatment — This is used when a person who has not issued a directive and needs medical care. Does not include withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment • Declaration for Mental Health Treatment — This document allows providers to make decisions in advance about mental health treatment. • Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates Form — This form is designed to help communicate wishes about medical treatment at some time in the future when unable to make wishes known because of illness or …show more content…
Most practices will involve caring for geriatric patients and those with life-threatening or terminal illnesses where discussions about end-of-life decision making and goals of care are essential. Understanding the differences between do not resuscitate (DNR), palliative care, hospice care, and symptom management in patients at the end of life is a critical skill set. Patients with various cultural backgrounds and personal experiences may present with diverse opinions of what is ethical. The nurse can serve as a resource to ensure that each person feels that their opinion counts.
Slide10
Ethical dilemmas which nurses face are vast in scope. For example, an elderly patient may want to walk without supervision. The nurse desires to promote independence, but the risk of patient injury due to falls may be great. The dilemma is how to balance the contrasting issues. Which is more important- independence or safety? Each patient, family, and healthcare team faces challenges such as this on a daily