Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in End-of-Life Decisions

Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in End-of-Life Decisions

The hospice social worker, in this case, is faced with a scenario where he is dealing with a client called Jake Overton, aged 55 years old bi-racial gay male. Overton lives in Oregon, and even though he is a successful artist, he is currently in the final phase of HIV/AIDS. In this state, Overton has expressed his desire to use physician-assisted death as allowed by the law of Oregon named Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act. The dilemma here is that the law contradicts the social worker’s professional and personal values. The response of the social worker should consider the client’s autonomy, his professional responsibility and most importantly, it should be informed by the NASW Code of Ethics.

Ethical Principles to Consider will be the dignity and worth of the person as emphasized by the NASW Code of Ethics. Since Overton has indicated his desire to take out his life, respecting his autonomy aligns with respecting his self-determination. Another ethical principle to consider is self-determination, which is explained under the NASW Code of Ethics (1.02) (NASW, 2021). A social worker is expected by this code to support the rights of every client to make decisions. The client here is very well-informed because he has undertaken different medical interventions for twenty years. He is, therefore, aware of his prognosis and other options available. Integrity will also apply (NASW, 2021). Ethical principle 4.04 requires social workers to balance their personal beliefs with professional duties, ensuring Jake receives legal and ethical end-of-life care (Reisch, 2020). The social worker should not try to convince Overton to take his opinion. Competence and cultural awareness are another code of ethics that will be applied. In this case, the core issue is addressing the challenges that Overton may experience as a bi-racial gay man in the healthcare system. The social worker should consider all these as he approaches his request.

The decision and assistance the social worker should give should be unbiased. For starters, the social worker finds Overton’s decision to be disturbing and conflicting with his values. In such a case of conflict, he can refer the client to another professional who will offer unbiased assistance (NASW, 2021). The first option is for the social worker to provide emotional and legal support and to ensure he gets compassionate care. Upholding and allowing him to have autonomy is vital (Reisch, 2020). The second option is to seek reassignment, where the social workers can reassign the case to a colleague who does not have these ethical concerns.

References

NASW. (2021). Code of Ethics. National Association of Social Workers (NASW). https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

Reisch, M. (2020). Social work ethics in a changing society. Cognella.

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Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in End-of-Life Decisions

Jake Overton is a 55-year-old bi-racial gay male. He is a successful artist and is in the final phases of HIV/AIDS. He found out he was HIV positive 20 years ago and has valiantly engaged in every medical intervention available. He presently weighs 90 lbs., has tuberculosis, and has a feeding tube and catheter. Although Jake’s prognosis is not good, there is a slim possibility that he could rally or that a new drug could be developed which would prolong his life. You are a hospice social worker in Oregon where patients legally have the right to terminate their lives. This law violates your professional and personal values. Jake has asked that you as his social worker help him arrange suicide. He has conveyed to you his wishes and knows that you can begin advocating and arranging for his wishes to be carried out. You can ask that another social worker take the case, but you have developed a close relationship with Jake and he has specifically requested that you act on his behalf.

Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in End-of-Life Decisions

1.Decide which ethical principles you will base your decision on.
2.Explain your choices and reasoning.
3.Discuss your decision to assist or not assist your client.

Please you can make use the NASW Code of Ethics.