NURS 6050 Week 10 Assignments,Ethical Determinants Essay
Ethical determinants
There are many ethical standards that I believe should be used to advocate for the aging population and with regards to end-of-life care. Utilitarian ethical theory “involves the concept that the moral of an action is determined solely by its contribution to overall usefulness” (Pozgar, 2013, p. 12). In other words, it means doing the greatest good for the most people and that the end justifies the means (Pozgar, 2013).NURS 6050 Week 10 Assignments,Ethical Determinants Essay
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The elderly has such a special place in my heart as I work with this population every day in the hospital. The specific population that sticks out to me the most is the dementia patients because they tend to be the ones that do not receive the best care. There are many ethical principles that I live by as a nurse. The most important to me are beneficence, autonomy, and justice especially when it comes to end of life care. Beneficence is “doing good, being kind, showing compassion and helping others” and providing equal benefits to all (Pozgar, 2013). Autonomy is “the right of a person to make one’s own decision”. Justice is “being fair in the distribution of benefits and risks and demands that all be treated the same” (Pozgar, (2013), p. 15). Every health care professional can make a difference in the elderly population. nurs 6050 Essay Assignments
Analysis of Ethical Challenges
As I mentioned above the determinants to help this aging population, there are challenges that come along with what was mentioned. Not everyone feels that the Utilitarian approach would be useful for the aging population. “Both the prevalence and the costs of chronic illness care will continue to rise” (Knickman, J. R., & Kovner, A. R., (2015), p. 112). Unfortunately, access to health care for some of the elderly is not available. That simply is because some live in such drastic areas and do not have any help. In addition, insurance requires many stipulations to get the appropriate care needed and many elderlies just go without it. “Data from the United States suggest that health care spending at the end of life is not increasing any more rapidly than health care spending in general” (Changing Role of the Family, n.d). It would be nice if all insurance companies had this ethical determinant in mind but of course it is all about money. nurs 6050 Essay Assignments
In regard to end-of-life care, the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence and justice is a must. I know that in my practice, regardless of whether I agree with the situation or not, the patient is my priority and I respect their decision. When families want their loved one who has metastatic disease to keep going through treatments but the patient says no, it is my job to advocate for the patient and uphold their wishes.
How can we help the change take place??NURS 6050 Week 10 Assignments,Ethical Determinants Essay
There is an easy solution: YOU! Be that voice that the aging population needs. We are all equal and our constitution spells that out. We all have rights. Regardless of someone’s background, or if they do not have insurance they all should be treated the same. The aging population is the easiest to mistreat, especially those with dementia. I once observed this really neat picture of an elderly woman with dementia looking in the mirror and her reflection was a young nurse. Remember who they once were! Even though they are physically and mentally aging, they still deserve the same care and treatment as any other member of society.nurs 6050 Essay Assignments NURS 6050 Week 10 Assignments,Ethical Determinants Essay