End Of Life Care Ethical Issues

In a society in which technology gives us the power to prolong life, moral questions about when and how people should die are starting to be more pressing than ever. Now removed from everyday experience, death seems almost unnatural. Societal conditions in the past prepared our ancestors to accept death, but in modern times, youth culture and progressive medical technology foster a desire for a youthful immortality and a detachment from the natural process. Medical, and legal experts around the world continue to debate the meaning of death and whether it can be administered. Sociologists, on the other hand, are beginning to study the circumstances surrounding the issues and the wider societal implications of possible changes in the law, professional practices and normative values.

The Peaceful End of Life theory is paramount as the authors stated that every individual deserved to die in a peaceful manner with dignity. The theory is empirical based which is applicable to nursing practice in caring for dying patients, assessing interventions, maximizing care, promote dignity and enhancing end of life to be peaceful. According to Moore and Ruland, a good life is simply defined as getting what one wants (Alligood, 2014, p. 702). The approach of given patients what they want or their preference is a practical approach to the end of life care. This theory stands out to me because it fit into my patient’s diagnosis and I believe everyone deserves to die with dignity and peacefully.

Ethical Dilemmas Euthanasia, or physician-assisted suicide, is currently legal in four states (Eareckson Tada, 2015). This has become a controversial issue in our modern society. Many people support the desire to have death with dignity on their own terms, while others do not think doctors should be placed in the position to end their patient’s life. People with a Christian worldview see euthanasia as an ethical dilemma, that concerns their core beliefs, and affects how they resolve the dilemma, which involves consequences and benefits from the resolution, and the resolution differs in comparison to another worldview option. Joni was a vibrant and physically healthy teenager when a diving accident with her friends left her as a quadriplegic.

I. INTRODUCTION: Euthanasia is a social issue in today’s world because not only does it affect the lives of those who are terminally ill and/or comatose, and the physicians who have been entrusted with their care, but it also affects the patient’s ability to have control over their own life, whether they are aware of this decision or not, which is one of the reasons why euthanasia has become such a controversial issue around the globe. Caddell and Newton (1995) define euthanasia as “any treatment initiated by a physician with the intent of hastening the death of another human being who is terminally ill and in severe pain or distress with the motive of relieving that person from great suffering” (p. 1,672). Even though the concept of great

End of life care - is the care given to a person with an advanced, life-limiting illness which is not curable, is about managing the pain and other symptoms aimed to improve the quality of care at the end of life. Within my place of work exists agreed ways of working and legal requirements of the end of life care in place, and we must work according to them. Considering the individual wishes whether CPR should be attempted, how they want to be cared for after death and ensure that their requests are correctly documented, meaning that their rights and preferences are respected even after death.

A Good Death: Patient Wishes Regarding End of Life Care Death is an inevitable part of life that affects every person differently. Even with modern technology and advancements in medicine, many people still experience a prolonged death, sometimes against their wishes (Tong et al., 2003). According to Wilson et al. (2009), there has been increasing concern for people to have a “good death”, primarily in part because of the expansion of the palliative care and hospice movement.

By keeping a patient who is in a vegetative state alive, thousands of dollars in medical bills are piling up that will become stressful for the patient’s family to pay off (Coster 16). The medicine required for euthanasia on average cost less than fifty dollars, whereas medical care can cost over a thousand times more (Coster 21). If a patient has written their request for euthanasia in their living will, then they should be granted their wishes and rights. In contrast, opponents of euthanasia argue that doctors should not practice euthanasia, even if the patient has requested it through their living will. Opponents claim that a healthy person cannot fathom how they would feel on their deathbed

As discussed in this paper, a patient’s decision to consent to euthanasia affects their family as well as healthcare funding. With that being said, the decision to legalize Active voluntary euthanasia is an extremely important decision. Emotionally, euthanasia is the better decision as it causes relief for the patient and peace of mind and time for closure for the family members of the patient. It is also less agonizing for the patient and can be done in a way that is respectful to the patient and their family. Financially, euthanasia would lessen the financial burden that would have been left up to relatives to pay off as well as it would reduce the money spent on funding end – of – life care.

There were several classes I attended that significantly impacted my views about death, dying, life, and living. However, for me I found it quite difficult to choose just one to highlight since they all seemed to make an impact on my thoughts and ideas in one-way or another. Nonetheless there were three classes that stood out a little bit more then the rest such as the Shifrin event, the class about bullying, and when the guest speaker came to discuss ethical issues during end of life care. From each of these classes I was able to take away some pertinent information about death, dying, life, and living.

Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia has been one of the most debated subjects in the past years. There are resilient advocates on both sides of the debate for and against physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Advocates of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide believe it is a person ’s right to die when faced with terminal illness rather than suffer through to an unpleasant demise. Whereas, opponents contend that euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide is not only equivalent of murder, but it is ethically and morally incorrect.

A controversial practice that invokes a debate over how beneficial its intentions are is the use of euthanasia. The argument switches between whether or not putting terminally ill patients to death with the assistance of a physician is justifiable and right. Legalizing the practice of euthanasia is a significant topic among many people in society, including doctors and nurses in the medical field, as it forces people to decide where to draw the line between relieving pain and simply killing. While some people see euthanasia as a way to helping a patient by eliminating their pain, it is completely rejected by others who see it as a method of killing.

INTRODUCTION WE choose our country, we choose our spouse, we choose our profession, we choose our political masters, and we choose where we want to live and how. We have to die one day, But how to die and when: should that be a matter of choice as well? Life and death were regarded as spheres of God’s planet before medical advancement. Currently, with an increase in the demand for Physician Assisted Suicide, life and death no longer seem to be accorded the same moral sanctity as earlier.

Physician assisted suicide—or euthanasia—has been a topic of extreme controversy for years now. According to examiner.com, this debate could date back as far as the sixteenth century. Some believe that it is a necessary practice that would allow terminally ill patients to die quickly, painlessly, and with dignity, while others believe that it is a destructive and murderous practice that could potentially blur the lines of right and wrong within the medical community. While many believe that it is within our rights as humans to die as we please, the rest believe that the right to be killed does not exist. This paper will highlight both the pros and cons of legalizing human euthanasia.

With the legalization of euthanasia, people with disabilities and other vulnerable people such as the elderly would feel encouraged to seek euthanasia as a means to end their medical problems. Although many people are against the legalization of euthanasia, other people believe that the decision to end one’s life is a personal decision and it follows the principle of autonomy. In the medical world, many people believe that it is unethical to violate a patient’s autonomy even if it means that they want to commit suicide. People feel that if a patient is suffering, especially due to a terminal illness, the patient should be able to avoid further suffering by committing suicide earlier on. Many people also believe that physicians assisting someone to commit suicide is the most humane way to pass away compared to other methods in which one commits suicide.

What is the best recommended course of action for the client at this time, and why?