So, the clinician’s care must be centered on the law. According to Medicines Act 1968, nurses are required to neither administer transfusion nor have authorized reason for withholding blood transfusion. There is a conflict between the law and patient’s powerful conviction of objecting blood transfusion treatment. In the addition, the nurses are too guided by national and local service policies. The policies and authorities demand nurses to carry care that is reverent to patient’s cultural or religious beliefs. The nurse might never be clear of the right path of action when a life-saving situation of blood transfusion is being declined. For sure, clinicians will not be certain about which authority or policies to fulfill first (Wilson, 2005). Consequently, the stance of the issue is to stability the religious desires of the patient and family against the clinical requirement for a needed blood transfusion. Being in the occurrence of patient and family opposition to treatment can be a stressful experience for healthcare practitioner. Though the law support venerating the ...
Furthermore, when the patient's daughter arrived and asked that the transfusion be stopped, the physician did not comply. The physician argued that there was no way of knowing before the car accident and thus he was duty bound to save her life. The patient and family took matter to court as they felt not respected and violated. The court announced the physician guilty of battery. This case illustrates that such incidents can occur and with cultural experts involved at hospitals, the number of these case incidents can reduce as physicians can be explained and taught to respect patient's autonomy and preferences for their own bodies (Panico, 2017). Therefore, cultural experts should be employed in hospitals as an official policy as the population is growing and many religions need to be fully understood to avoid any privacy or religious invasion. Cultural experts will be able to provide a better patient-doctor relationship as they will be considering the patients emotions and religious beliefs with medical intervention, representing both the patient and medical
Health Care workers are constantly faced with legal and ethical issues every day during the course of their work. It is important that the health care workers have a clear understanding of these legal and ethical issues that they will face (1). In the case study analysed key legal and ethical issues arise during the initial decision-making of the incident, when the second ambulance crew arrived, throughout the treatment and during the transfer of patient to the hospital. The ethical issues in this case can be described as what the paramedic believes is the right thing to do for the patient and the legal issues control what the law describes that the paramedic should do in this situation (2, 3). It is therefore important that paramedics also
Modern society has developed an understanding and recognised the morals regarding consent as individuals have a right and interest over their body (5). Consent enables protection against unauthorised invasion of an individual’s body and can be applied to numerous scenarios, including medical care (5). A paramedic must obtain consent before treating a patient, as consent has legal and ethical aspects that must be regarded (2). It is imperative for a paramedic to maintain ethical and legal competency to assess whether a patient is competent to deny or consent to treatment as presented in the case study (3). Paramedics attended Betty, a 78-year-old female, after her son called the ambulance service. Betty is provided
Nurses are required to protect and support their patients if they are to be an efficient patient advocate. Ethically questionable situations are quite common for nurses that conflict with their professionals and personal morals. At times, the patient necessitates the nurse to speak out for them demonstrating
Nurses are faced with ethical dilemmas in their practices often. Respecting a patient’s belief or choice, whether we think it is right or wrong, is a must. Jehovah Witness (JW) patients refuse blood transfusions and their life can be in danger, but that is their right to choose and nurses must respect that. Patients decide not to have a lifesaving surgery or chemotherapy, which is their personal decisions. We, as nurses, can educate and inform, but eventually it is the patient’s right to refuse or accept treatment. This writer feels that when good morals and character are in place, the best possible ethical decisions can be made. These decisions are not necessarily right or wrong, but the best choices for the patient and their care based on the patient’s right to
Traditionally, the physician was expected to use all of their talents and training in an effort to save the life of their patient, no matter the odds. More recently, the physician’s role has been redefined to preserve the autonomy of the patient. Now physicians must give life saving care only in so far and to the degree desirous of the competent patient.
Jehovah's witnesses’ faith allows them to seek medical help; however, they do not accept blood transfusions. This belief arises from a biblical passage that states "Only flesh with its soul- its blood-you must not eat (Genesis 9:3-4), "You must not eat the blood of any sort of flesh, because the soul of every sort of flesh is its blood. I will set my face against that person who eats blood...Anyone eating it will be cut off” (Leviticus 17:10, 13-14). These passages are interpreted by Jehovah's witnesses as forbidding the transfusion of any blood products. The following presentation will address legal and ethical issues that can arise from this scenario.
The topic chosen is blood transfusion. Blood transfusion is one of the most common procedures that are performed in the hospital setting to save lives and help improve one’s health. People who have serious injuries may need blood transfusions to replace the lost of blood. Some of the injuries are more critical than others and require an enormous amount of blood. In addition, many people have illnesses that prevent their body from making blood properly. Blood circulates in the body providing oxygen and nutrients and collects waste so it can be eliminated by the body; therefore, it is an important factor for everyone’s lives (Lewis Medical surgical nursing). Blood should be carefully transfused. Although it is a lifesaver, nurses should follow the proper procedure and strict guidelines to safely transfuse the blood. One sample error during transfusion can cause someone life.These situations can lead to death, especially in serious cases. So nurses must have knowledge and understand the purpose of blood transfusion.
In this essay the author will rationalize the relevance of professional, ethical and legal regulations in the practice of nursing. The author will discuss and analyze the chosen scenario and critically review the action taken in the expense of the patient and the care workers. In addition, the author will also evaluates the strength and limitations of the scenario in a broader issue with reasonable judgement supported by theories and principles of ethical and legal standards.
Several ethical principles that are incorporated in the nursing care of patients on a daily basis are nonmalificence, autonomy, beneficence, justice, fidelity and paternalism. Nurses should strive to comply to as many of the principles as possible. In this case there are principles which support and conflict with the wishes of the patient. The first principle that supports the wish of the patient is autonomy. Autonomy means that competent patients have the right to make decisions for themselves and the delivery of the healthcare that they receive. Another factor that would support the patient’s wish to not be resuscitated is nonmalificence. Non maleficence means that nurses should not cause harm or injury to their patients. In this case the likelihood of injury after resuscitation was greater than if the patient were allowed to expire. A principle that could have negatively affected the outcome of the provision of ethical care was paternalism. Paternalism is when a healthcare provider feels that they know what is best for a patient, regardless of the patient’s desire for their own care. I demonstrated the principle of paternalism because I thought that I knew what was best for the patient without first consulting with the patient or family. This situation might have had some very negative consequences had the patient not have been competent. Practicing a paternalistic mindset might have caused a practitioner in the same instance to force their ideas about not resuscitating the loved one onto the family. This could have caused a sense of remorse and loss of control of care amongst the
The ethical situation in question is a culmination of intolerance, ignorance, cultural insensitivity, and failure to follow hospital protocols and procedures. The location of the facility in which the ethical dilemma took place is a small, rural hospital in the Midwest of the United States of America. A new male patient has been admitted and he is currently a practicing Muslim. The facility does not have a large Muslim population and does not have any cultural protocols in place to accommodate the Muslim religion.
In critical and complicating medical cases, family members often find it tedious to decide as to what mode or procedure of treatment is idyllic for the recovery of their patient. In such cases, well-qualified and medically educated can play a pivotal role in deciding the kind of treatment that should be given to the patient to enhance its recovery. In a contrary situation a nurse may know that administering a particular drug may improve the patient’s condition, but may be refrained from conducting the required action due to doctor’s absence or non-permission. There are numerous cases through which ethical dilemmas in the profession of nursing can be discussed. Nurses in order to remain within the defined boundaries ...
A lot of information has been stipulated concerning how patients should be treated and the legal rights involved in the health care system. Different values are, therefore, involved. In the correctional setting, the patient entirely relies on the nursing service offered and various services are expected to be offered by a nurse. However, in the process of providing these services, a nurse has to uphold all ethics that dictate the profession (National Commission on Correctional Care, 2011). The legal ethics include right to autonomy where the patient’s view should be respected and incorporated in the provision of nursing care. A nurse should always tell the patient the truth according to how he or she is fairing on health wise. The principle of beneficence also allows a nurse to concentrate on provision of services that are beneficial to the patient. A registered nurse also ensures equitability and fairness in the provision of care to the patient (National Commission on Correctional Care, 2011). Another principle that a nurse understands is the principle of fidelity that allows a nurse to remain committed in the process of provision of care. The principles help a nurse in making ethical decisions in the process delivering nursing care to the patient. For instance, having in mind the principle autonomy, one can be able to appreciate an advance of health care directive that enables one to act as per the patient’s
During a pandemic in India, a doctor did exploits and was praised by other team members as Fink narrates: “Colleagues credited her quick thinking with saving lives” (p.472). The respect for the person and his or her dignity is at the core of the nursing practice. The registered nurse, as a member of the discipline of nursing should always remember before any action, this strong ethical piece: First, do no harm.
In view of the rising costs of blood, the hospital tried to have sensible discussions with Red Cross and their answer was quite simple and disappointing and that was, for the hospital to get other blood suppliers if it simply didn’t like their prices. Carolinas Healthcare System was not the first to get such a blatant answer and neither was it to be the last. The hospital understood that though the Red Cross had their headquarters in Charlotte, and a national blood testing lab, decisions were not made from within but from St Louis. Based on this, they would not be expecting any considerable action as St. Lois never showed any interest in solving Carolina’s