Patient Education and Medical Ethics

It is understandable a family member of someone who needs a feeding tube would be scared and apprehensive of this procedure. There are fears associated with placing a feeding tube including malnutrition causing the patient to starve; however, it is the healthcare provider’s responsibility to thoroughly explain the procedure and its benefits to the family. A large aspect of the nursing profession is being an advocate for the patient and explaining to the family that certain procedures are important for the benefit of their health. There are ethics that must be adhered to during patient and family teaching that will give the patient and their family the information they need in a respectful and professional manner. These ethics include justice meaning fair treatment between all patients, autonomy or the patients’ independence, beneficence meaning keeping the patient safe from harm, and veracity meaning truth telling. For the best care to be provided to the patient each member of the healthcare staff must adhere to each of these ethical principles in order to provide the best relationship with the patient and the family. Along with ethics the client also has right that the healthcare professionals must follow including the right to receive information including benefits, risks, and cost of treatment (emedicinehealth, 2011). The client also has the right to make decisions even if it is against medical advice. The patient has the right to be treated with respect, dignity, with timely attention. The patient also has the right to confidentiality, right to continued health care, and the right to have adequate health care (emedicinehealth, 2011).

Deana, a patient with Parkinson's disease, has gone through many different agoni...

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...em will be fixed. A decision about an invasive procedures, such as a feeding tube is very intense and means Deana’s disease is progressing, but there are still options that will help her quality of life.

The best way to provide patient care is education, this means educating the patient, family members, and anyone making medical decisions on behave of the patient. Each medical staff member should be open and honest about the procedures within their scope of practice. The more education the family gets the better the medical judgment will be for the patient. Within the medical education the healthcare professionals must be non-judgmental about the decisions the patient or power of attorney make. The patient as well as their family must be treated fairly, with dignity, self respect, with the practice of maintaining as much patient independence as possible.