Examples Of Ethical Dilemma In Nursing

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Ethical dilemma between a principle of respect for patient autonomy and a principle of beneficence for withdrawing treatment of TPN and respirator as client is in coma with poor prognosis. A nurse should be “helping and being involved in client and family discussions about treatment” (CNO, 2009, p 5). Withdrawing treatment could threaten the patient’s life. It is an ethical issue, the question to consider, is the problem new or already existing problem. Why was the client initiated on this treatment at first place? Did she have any advance directives or living will? Is husband the substitute decision maker? Does a surrogate best knows the patient’s preference in client’s best interest. Does family informed/outline the nature of proposed treatment/intervention. …show more content…
Continue with the treatment which will prolong patient’s but according to neurologist she will be no longer able to live “normal life”. Prolonged management/support/care will exhaust the family’s financial and emotional resources 2. Withdraw the treatment lead to death.
The core themes are
Communication: communicate with patients and members of the inter-professional team to guide informed discussion about patients’ goals (CNO, 2006, p. 5).
Advocacy: advocate for the patient and empower the patient (CNO, 2006. 4) to implement the clients treatment and end of life care wishes.
Select the best alternative and justify your decision/ Implementation (CNO, 2009, p. 15) As a result of analysis and comparison, which one has a priority among the alternatives? 1) Legal test. Is the chosen option consistent with law? 2) Front-page test. What if this case were published in one of the popular newspapers? 3) Gut-feeling test. Is your decision consistent with your gut-feeling as a nurse? 4) Role model test. Is a RN you respect likely to make the same decision? 5) Professional standard test. Is your decision acceptable to the nursing profession? Develop strategies to successfully implement the chosen alternative and take