Preview

Patient Ethical Dilemmas

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1318 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Patient Ethical Dilemmas
Patient and Family Involvement to Ethical Issue on Care Decision Making

Purpose: Decision making is a crucial element in the field of medicine and health care. The physician has to determine what is wrong with the patient and recommend treatment, while the patient has to decide whether or not to seek medical care, and go along with the treatment recommended by the physician.

Patients have both rights and responsibilities when it comes to their health and the health care services they receive. Patients have the right to care, treatment, and services that safeguards their personal dignity and respect their cultural, psychosocial and spiritual values. They have the right to participate in decisions about their care and to
…show more content…
Right to Dignity

Dignity is: • A term used in moral, ethical, and political discussions to signify that a being has an innate right to respect and ethical treatment. It is an extension of Enlightenment-era beliefs that individuals have inherent, inviolable rights, and thus is closely related to concepts like virtue, respect, self-respect, autonomy, human rights, and enlightened reason.

Maintenance of patient dignity is an important element of nursing care that is highly valued by patients. Despite this, dignity is seldom defined and there are few guidelines that nurses may use in their practice to safeguard individual patients' dignity. Important elements in the meaning the nurses ascribed to the notion of patient dignity were the elements of respect, privacy, control, advocacy and time. The characteristics that patients attributed to dignity and its maintenance included respect, privacy, control, choice, humour and matter-of-factness.

The health professionals and givers should know how to respect the patients’ dignity. The only way is to respect all their rights as a human being, as a patient and their values and beliefs in
…show more content…
Perhaps they should be reticent, unless asked or in response to the patient's lead. In any situation where there is an asymmetry of position, power, or health, it is important to avoid intrusiveness or subtle coercion. We should speak of our faith and spiritual hopes and practices only if asked. We could pray for a patient and for guidance, but not pray with them unless it was specifically requested. Yet surely, spiritual resources should be offered and made available to patients, unaccompanied by pressure. Our commitment to benevolent care and the relief of suffering can be communicated in large and small ways. As St. Francis said, "Always preach the gospel, sometimes use words." Deeds and empathy, beneficence, courtesy and respect for the dignity of patients as fellow children of God will convey the good news. A care giver should be trustworthy and never lie, but always make an effort to offer patients hope for as full a life as is possible for them-- even if no cure is possible. We can be grateful for their vocation by demonstrating gratitude to our patients for the privilege of caring for

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    PERSON CENTRED UNIT 17

    • 3051 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The client should be listened to and given respect and understanding, and be treated as an individual who has control of their destiny. Care staff should get to know the clients wishes and respect their choices and needs.…

    • 3051 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Clinicians are expected to provide medical services to help others. However, there is a debate about whether clinicians should treat friends and family, members also known as non-patients. “Treatment of non-patients is widespread, with some studies reporting nearly 100 percent of physicians engaging in this practice” (Latessa & Ray, 2005, p.42). A case was presented where a physician assistant (PA Brian) was asked to treat his supervising physician (Dr.Yarnell) for different medical conditions while prescribing multiple controlled substances. Legal standards provide vague ethical guidance regarding this issue and leave a lot of blank spaces open for clinician interpretation. In Dr.Yarnell and PA Brian’s case there were numerous ethical dilemmas that can be examined under the four ethical principles of medicine: beneficence, nonmaleficence, respect for autonomy, and justice.…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    We support the rights of our patients by treating our community with respect, compassion and dignity, while providing high quality service in the most effective, efficient and safest way possible.…

    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Examples to 2nd Essay

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Dignity and the essence of medicine: the A, B, C, and D of dignity conserving care…

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    According to the American Nurses Associations Code of Ethics (ANA) provision 1.4, “respect for human dignity requires the recognition of specific patient rights, particularly, the right of self-determination” (Nursing World, Code of Ethics). By means of…

    • 1310 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lin, Y., & Tsai, Y. (2011). Maintaining patients ' dignity during clinical care: a qualitative…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Each patient has the right to know what services they are seeking and to make their decisions based on their situation. In some cases, the Social Worker or Counselor must decide what’s best for the client, if they are not capable of making decisions on own. For an example, they may show signs of psychological trauma. A patient’ rights should always be considered first. These practices should never be determined by someone else neither values nor opinions.…

    • 1454 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nmc Code Of Care

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages

    1.Make the care of people your first concern, treating them as individuals and respecting their dignity Recognizing and treating people as unique and valued persons are requirements to live a good life.(Reading & Webster, 2013). I believe in the principle of NMC code (2008) that nurses should make the care of the people their first concern by giving individualized and dignified care. People come from different parts of the world and carrying with them are various beliefs and perspectives when it comes to health. Whatever beliefs each one of us have “patients and clients are at the centre of healthcare and their wishes must be respected at all times” (Brooker & Waugh, 2013).…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In modern day, health care professionals are often faced with medical decisions that affect clients seeking treatment. They are faced with situations on whether to continue care, determining the direction of care, and even deciding whom they should treat. Often, these decisions present an ethical dilemma. According to McConnell (2014), the features of a moral dilemma consist of a situation where the $$$$agent is required to do each of two (or more) actions; the agent can do each of the actions; but the agent cannot do both (or all) of the actions. The agent thus seems condemned to moral failure; no matter what she does, she will do something wrong (or fail to do something that she ought to do).…

    • 2639 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cultural Competence Essay

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Every patient requires different care, with differing values and beliefs. As a result, healthcare providers will be challenged with ethical dilemmas on the basis of beneficence, nonmaleficence, and social justice.…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Autonomy In Nursing

    • 303 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Also, nobody is present from their family to make decision on their behalf. This could give rise the ethical problem and dilemma for a nurse and/or for a paramedic because patient refused treatment. It would result in delay in patient care (Betts, 2013). Although to build effective relationship with a patient, trust is really important and this can only build by maintaining the patient autonomy (Betts, 2013). Autonomy of the patient is admired by ethical code of conduct and regulations as outlined by Australian Medical Association (AMA). It defines that for health care providers, the thought of the good health of patient should be kept at prime precedence (Townsend & Luck,…

    • 303 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Promoting patient’s autonomy is showing a sense of respect the patients. This can be violated very easy, it is the nurse responsibility to provide some sort of safety to prevent this from occurring. By educating the patients is recommended in all healthcare environment. When these patients understand that they have the right to their medical information, and also they have right to make any decision, they will be able to advocate themselves and prevent it. Educating the patient as a preventive measure that will also prevent any ethical dilemma advanced practice nurses’ moral distress. As a result, this can be done by explaining to the patient all the legal aspect while they are in the hospital. Another recommendation that could be made to prevent the violation of patient veracity and autonomy which may resolve advanced practice nurses’ moral distress in the dilemma, the healthcare providers should always encourage patients to seek care that promotes the individual patient’s medical interests. It might be thought that this approach fails to respect patient autonomy.…

    • 249 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dignity, equality, diversity and humanity are basic rights for all individuals which are underpinned by Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality Act 2010. Dignity is concerned with how people feel in relation to themselves. To treat someone with dignity is to treat them with respect and thought. It is to treat them with regard. Matiti (2011) regards dignity as ensuring privacy for patients when giving care and to be kind and compassionate.…

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Select two of these aspects and utilising relevant current literature, describe each of these aspects of patient dignity and briefly outline their relevance to patient centred care.…

    • 2081 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Healthcare is highly sensitive and influenced by the established principles of a strict code of conduct. The established principles contribute significantly in the mode of operations and service delivery. Also, healthcare is associated with a wide range of tasks as well as decision-making procedures that are affiliated to the provided protocols. The US health care sector adopted principles that enable execution of tasks safeguards the interests the patients’ through provision of top quality services. Notably, the healthcare sector is associated with both expensive research and experiments that are geared towards improving the service delivery. However, the research and experiment are faced with ethical issues or dilemmas…

    • 852 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays