Ethical decision making. Health, Medicine, Nursing Essay

Ethical Decision Making
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Ethical Decision Making
The ethical dilemma involves an elderly man who was brought to the emergency department unit while intoxicated. The man was brought unconscious and suffered from various underlying issues such as diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The intensive care unit staff were determined to revive the man, however, he had a tattoo with the impression “Do not resuscitate (Holt et al., 2017). This order meant the emergency medical personnel couldn’t perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the man to revive his breathing and heart beating. In many cases, the DNR order covers only CPR which means it can allow healthcare providers to offer other forms of treatment to a patient. A patient may choose to have a DNR order due to possible health complications that may result from performing CPR such as brain damage and broken ribs. They may survive and suffer from a lower quality of life or poor functioning. The resuscitation may also leave the patient to cause more burden than benefits such as the financial costs of being in a support machine or ventilators (MSD, 2018). So, the DNR order is a critical end of life decision made by a patient who feels it is better off for healthcare provides to leave them to die than to survive a resuscitation procedure.
This situation raises an ethical dilemma for the health care providers do they respect the man’s wishes of ‘’Do not resuscitate” or should they use the CPR medical intervention to revive the man and prevent him from dying. The goal of healthcare is to offer treatment that would save and protect the life of a patient. So, the DNR order leaves them with the choice of neglecting the patient’s wishes and saving his life or following the patient’s wishes and leaving him to remain unconscious till he dies. Furthermore, the patient is intoxicated leaving the likelihood it was inscribed due to the influence of alcohol. Another ethical dilemma is the man’s next of kin are not nearby. In DNR situations, the families may not understand the complexities involved in the intervention. They may not have understood the man’s wishes of not performing a DNR and there is the possibility they would blame the healthcare providers for not saving their kin’s life (Holt et al., 2017). To handle this scenario, the primary caregivers that are nurses need ethical competence to ensure an ethically responsible decision is made.
In this scenario, various organizational policies based on ANA’s code can be used to administer care to patients with DNR orders. First, the patients deserve equal care like other patients which means nurses can use medical interventions that alleviate suffering or promote wellbeing while respecting the wishes and preferences of the patients. In this situation, the nurses can explore alternative techniques which can bring benefits to the patient. Second, nurses should follow the policy that the DNR order takes the highest priority even if it contradicts with the wishes of the family or care provider. This policy is applicable when the patient has a sound decision-making capacity where they can...