Todays Health Care Environment
Respecting The Wishes of a Suffering Client That He Is Permitted To Die With Dignity
Legalizing medical assistance in dying (MAiD) provides palliative care patients a legal right to assisted dying while simultaneously creating moral and ethical dilemmas for the care providers (Cohen & Chambaere, 2022). As a nurse, I am ethically bound by the principle of client autonomy in their health and life decisions, including their decisions on death with dignity. I do not see any dignity in watching my client suffer and struggle with pain until their time of death. However, I must also abide by the ethics and moral obligations of my profession to my client. Therefore, I will respect my client’s wishes to be permitted to die with dignity regardless of his suffering.
Respecting The Health Surrogate’s Wishes Regarding the Termination of Life Support
Providing life support at end-of-life care seeks to reduce suffering for clients during their final days. As an end-of-life care nurse, I understand my obligation to respect the wishes of the client or their surrogate. In this case, I would consider the state of the client and advise on the termination of the life support wish and what it means. I would provide them with emotional and spiritual support to communicate with family members and create an opportunity to bid farewell to the departing.
Observing Another Nurse Take Two Tablets Of Oxycodone As Ordered But Keeping One For Herself
I would first talk to the nurse about the tablet and ask why she kept it. I would then report the case to the supervisor to follow up on whether the nurse has an opioid issue that needs to be addressed and ensure she gets the necessary support.
An Example of an Ethical Dilemma
I once was assigned a duty on pain control for a client who had been involved in an accident. I administered the recommended morphine dose. However, the client remained observably under intense pain that I even felt it. He begged me to add to the dose without my supervisor’s knowledge. I could see he was really in pain, but I could not give him the extra shot. I felt bad about that, but I decided not to give them the extra short as it risked morphine overdose and misuse and even risked the safety of the client.
References
Cohen, J., & Chambaere, K. (2022). Increased legalization of medical assistance in dying: Relationship to palliative care. BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care. https://doi.org/10.1136/BMJSPCARE-2022-003573
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Question 
Directions:
Today’s healthcare environment gives nurses many reasons to be conflicted. Genetic testing, abortion, and end-of-life care are just some of the areas in which nurses may face ethical dilemmas. Consider how you feel about the following issues:
Todays Health Care Environment
Respecting the wishes of a suffering client that he is permitted to die with dignity,
Respecting the health surrogate’s wishes regarding the termination of life support,
Or even observing another nurse take two tablets of oxycodone as ordered but keeping one for herself.
Then, give an example of an ethical dilemma you may have confronted in your own clinical experience or workplace. How did you come to the decision you made? What feelings did you experience while coming to that choice? (If you have not yet faced an ethical dilemma, research one and comment on it, answering the same questions.)