Dementia Case Study

Jim also died on (November 18, 1978) of a gun wound straight to his head. Yet no one knows if the gunshot wound was self-inflicted. What happened in Jonestown was a sad devastation to many people, and it can even be considered genocide because of all the people he made commit suicide to be with each other in the end. A total of 900 people died from drinking the cyanide-laced grape punch. Once you kill someone it cannot be undone and that does not change once you kill more either it just makes it worse with the 900 that were killed in Jonestown.

This is as a result of incompetent managers leading to nurses having to manage the hospital when they should be treating patients. It is also due to the nurses having to perform extra roles, which may be outside of their professional scope, and they are therefore not performing up to standards in the areas they are meant to be practicing in. Justification of the Research Problem: a) The article and therefore the research problem brings about the concern that nurses and possibly other health care practitioners are practicing outside of the scope that they have been formerly trained in. b) It brings about concern as to the fact that there is poor management, which is causing infant deaths. The fact that the hospital is poorly managed leads to poor treatment of patients receiving care at the hospital and therefore affects the experience that the have.

Having worked in a variety of medical settings, I have seen countless people suffer hideous deaths from illnesses like cancer, AIDS, cirrhosis and end-stage pulmonary disease. A dying animal is quickly “put out of its misery,” but no such consideration is offered to the terminally ill human. Where there is life there may be hope. But where there is life there is also inevitable death. Doctors often act as if death were just another health problem that could be cured with enough effort.

Someone who was once kind may become defensive and angry. Patients may display inappropriate behavior and experience paranoia and hallucinations. The affected individual may have to adjust to many different things throughout the course of the disease such as losing the ability to drive, carry out everyday tasks, and in some cases, move to a care facility. Dementia brings an increased risk of neglect and abuse, especially to the patients who are being cared for by a family member at home. Neglect is known as the failure to provide proper attention or care such as food, medication, and clothing.

For instance, Jack Kevorkian, who was known for successfully assisting more than 130 patients to end their lives, was charged with second degree murder and was sentenced to 8 years in prison (Murphy, 2011). Some people labeled him as a "serial killer". However, I personally respect him for being fearless to help his patients even though he was misunderstood by many. As far as I am concerned, it is very sad when patients who suffer from unbearable pains cannot make the final decision in their lives – to die at the appointed time. My grandmother had Parkinson’s disease and one of her symptoms was tremor – shaking; she could feel the nerves twitching all the time, from head to toe.

However, feelings of hopelessness at any age should not be recognized as normal, but instead as an indicator of depression. Major depression has been found in various nursing home residents that are cognitively impaired (Llewellyn-Jones & Snowdon, 2007, p. 629). Residents that are cognitively impaired experience hopelessness which tend to be overlooked by health workers. Also, residents perceive he or she is not useful or lacks a sense of meaning in life. Residents that had a professional job had a difficult adapting to the different lifestyle in nursing homes (Choi et al., 2008, 540).

Active euthanasia involves causing death to someone through a direct action, like giving someone a lethal injection of controlled substances, or a high dose of carbon monoxide. There are many cases where euthanasia has come under close scrutiny. Most memorable are those involving Dr. Kavorkian. Known as "Dr. Death", as some headlines read, Dr. Kavorkian has become famous for his many assisted suicides with his suicide machine. In most cases the people involved in these high profile cases are battling a terminal illness, are in great pain, and have a quality of life so low they do not have the will to go on living.

As more evidence was collected, another enquiry was launched. On September 7th 1998 Harold Shipman was charged with 15 counts of murder. (A+E 2014) Suspicions being raised Dr Reynolds (colleague) suspicions grew when an increasing number of females were dying in the ward without any signs of prior illness. Reynolds decided to contact the local mortician; doing so revealed that patients were being found dead at their homes while Shipman was present. The mortician decided to pass this information on to Chief Superintendent Sykes, the main issue was the amount of cremation certificates Shipman was requesting other Doctor’s to sign.

The symptoms can cause more severe symptoms if ignored or untreated. Some caregivers may use denial or avoiding to push the emotions away. (Alzheimer 's Foundation of America - What is Dementia, 2016) Depression is commonly seen in caregivers of Dementia clients. Depression is able to break the spirit of coping with the anxiety and stress that comes from caregiving. There is a link between that greater levels of caregiver burden and depression.

But, the debate will go on, bringing me to the argument: should assisted suicide laws be changed? Dr. Jack Kevorkian was probably one of the more notable figures when speaking of assisted suicide. “Kevorkian is best known as the physician who helped dozens of people end their lives...” His work has left a legacy that is negligent and unethical at best or one of butcher at worse. Sadly, this has left a bitter taste in the mouths of many. In his practice he gave patients access to drugs and equipment to aid in ending their lives.