Nurses should encourage patients and their significant others to discuss end-of-life care and to use advance directives so patients’ wishes can be maintained if patients lose their ability to make decisions about their care. As a nurse, it’s vital for you to respect patient autonomy while keeping in mind the best treatment route without compromising the patient’s decision. It gives patients the right to voice their choices for end-of-life treatment, but this stage of life may come with limitations.
The Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) aims to increase the ability of health care providers and patients to communicate. Jeanne Erickson, Ph.D., RN, told the Oncology Nursing Society that nurses should advocate for regular family meetings so everyone can understand the patient’s condition and the best steps to take as the disease progresses. Gaining perspective from a registered nurse allows prospective nurses to understand the value of strong communication. Asking patients early about their wishes and providing them with accurate information and resources ensures a clear line of communication. End-of-life conversations are always difficult, but they need to happen. Whether a patient can no longer speak for him or herself or family members have a hard time describing what their loved one wants, nurses may face the breakdown of communication during the decision-making process. Here are some of the most common issues you may face during end-of-life care: 1. This can sometimes seem blurred, however, if you’re dealing with an ethical problem, especially at the end of someone’s life. Offering top-quality care while keeping patients’ wants and needs in mind should always be a nurse’s top priority. Understanding the most common problems you are likely to encounter can also assist during the decision-making process.
Many institutions also have an ethics committee that can help you address such situations. Performing an ethics consultation, taking advice from hospice team members and other medical experts, and using educational materials can help you navigate an ethical dilemma.
#ETHICAL ISSUES IN END OF LIFE DECISIONS HOW TO#
Medical professionals can work based on deontological theory, as described in “Ethical Issues Surrounding End-of-Life Care: A Narrative Review,” which highlights the relationship between duty and morality of the actions taken by human beings.Īs a nurse, you have various resources at your disposal in the event that you are unsure how to handle an issue. Physicians and nurses alike have a responsibility to provide patients with detailed information about treatment and the potential outcomes. Nurses helping patients during the last days or hours of their lives may well face an ethically difficult situation. The importance of understanding ethical issues We’ll also talk about how the online Doctor of Nursing Practice program can teach you about ethics and help you feel prepared in end-of-life situations with patients and their families. In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of understanding the ethics of end-of-life care.
Understanding how to navigate such situations when issues arise is a critical component to end-of-life care. There is no doubt that you’ll face ethical dilemmas during your journey as a nurse death, and the way it sometime progresses, may be questioned from an ethical perspective. This makes it important for nurses to prepare for end-of-life care needs as necessary and understand potential issues that develop. While end-of-life decisions are made in all age groups, the number of adults aged 65 and older is projected to double by 2060. Specifically, hospice nurses who provide end-of-life care are responsible for helping patients transition to the last stage of existence, all while acting as a resource for patients, caregivers and other family members during this difficult time. As a nurse, you are constantly put in different situations and will face challenges that will evoke an emotional response and remind you how critical your role is in this complex, ever-changing industry.
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