Class,
Many of us have had experience a cultural block to giving care. Johanstone (2004) states that we must respect other cultures and their beliefs. Many nurses find this very difficult. I would like for you to post a comment in this threat to explain what you came across and how you handled it.
Dee
Johnstone, M., (2004) Bioethics: a nursing perspective. (4th ed.). Churchill Livingstone: Sydney, NSW, Australia
Monday, April 4, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Ethical Decision Making
Culture and Hospice Care
Is the western way always the right way? America is a great melting pot of many cultures and with this we see many cultures and practices in health care. The western nurse is not always ready to take on the change in thinking as well as the change of openness or lack thereof.
In December 1991 The Patient Self Determination Act (PSDA) went into effect that gave the patient the right to determine what was and what was not done to them in the event that as part of The Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1990 (Rouse, 1991 as cited in Carter & Tsai, 2008 ). The PSDA gives a competent patient the right to make their wishes known. The patient also has the right to know what is going on in their health and health care.
As a western country there is the principal that person has the right to make their own decision and to exercise individual choices when it comes to their own health care (Johnstone, 2004, Beauchamp & Childress, 1994 as cited in Carter & Tsai, 2008). As a western society we have the belief that a person has the right to know what is wrong with their health and what course of treatment they want to partake in. There are some cultures that do not hold this belief. As many nurses have seen in their practice that some patients are not aware of their terminal diagnosis and that is the families wish.
I would like some feedback on your views of this ethical situation in that hospice setting.
Reference
Charter, K., & Tsai, C. (2008). Palliative care in a multicultural society: a challenge for western ethics. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing. 26(2). http://web.ebscohost.com.lib.kaplan.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&hid=18&sid=ebe3444b-b01f-4dcb-b8ac-2e2254eabe82%40sessionmgr4.
Johnstone, M., (2004) Bioethics: a nursing perspective. (4th ed.). Churchill Livingstone: Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Rouse, F. (1991). Patients, providers, and the PSDA. Hastings Center Report, 21 (5). Retrieved July 8, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
Ulrich, L., (2001). The patient self-determination act: Meeting the challenges in patient care. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday March 28, 2008
As there has been no post or comments to this blog I will continue to attempt to facilitate discussion...
Hospice is not a place but a state of treatment given by hospice staff. Hospice is carried out in many settings such as the patient's home, nursing home, hospice facility or private care homes. Many times people including nurses confuse Hospice order of Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) means do not treat. This is quite the opposite. The symptoms of the disease that the patient is dying from are treated but most of the time other diseases are continuing to be treated. An example is Atrial-fibulation is treated with anti-coagulants and antiarrythmics and the patient's PT/INR will continue to be monitored. Any comments?
Hospice is not a place but a state of treatment given by hospice staff. Hospice is carried out in many settings such as the patient's home, nursing home, hospice facility or private care homes. Many times people including nurses confuse Hospice order of Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) means do not treat. This is quite the opposite. The symptoms of the disease that the patient is dying from are treated but most of the time other diseases are continuing to be treated. An example is Atrial-fibulation is treated with anti-coagulants and antiarrythmics and the patient's PT/INR will continue to be monitored. Any comments?
Dee
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday March 27, 2011
Introduction:
Hospice has become one of the most widely used services for participants at the end of life. One-quarter of all patients that die in this country and two-thirds of those dying of chronic illnesses are managed through hospice care (Casarett et al, 2005).
The patient and their families have access to many services and interdisciplinary team members. Medicare benefits pay for medications (that are related to the diagnosis that places them on hospice) and durable medical equipment. The interdisciplinary team can include a home health aide and those that are experienced and trained in end-of-life care such as the nurse chaplain, social worker, volunteer coordinator and bereavement coordinator.
This can be a very tough time for the family as well as the nurse but there has never been a more rewarding time for a nurse that finds this their chosen field of nursing.
The following is a link to International Association for Hospice & Palliative Care. http://www.hospicecare.com/Organisation/. A lot of information and support for personnel in the field of hospice and palliative care can be found at this site and we will be accessing this site and many more throughout this course.sociation for Hospice & Palliative
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