Developing a Healthcare Perspective

Developing a Healthcare Perspective
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Developing a Healthcare Perspective
Hospice care health professionals encounter various ethical dilemmas when dealing with patients in their end-of-life stages. In particular, caregivers in hospice facilities focus on providing high-quality medical care for individuals experiencing life-limiting or advanced diseases. These professionals are there to comfort their patients whose illnesses are incurable so that they can live with dignity and comfort in their last stages of life. The common ethical dilemmas in hospice care, which will be discussed and solutions are given in this paper, are inadequate communication, patient autonomy threatened, decision-making, managing distressing symptoms and opioid usage, and non-beneficial care.
The lack of proper communication between hospice care nurses and patients can lead to a significant ethical dilemma. Specifically, caregivers are encouraged to set treatment goals by communicating with their patients to ensure that both parties agree. In the case of end-of-life, some sick individuals might not be in a position to communicate effectively, and that is the point when family members come in to help health professionals make proper decisions (Cheon, Coyle, Wiegand, & Welsh, 2015). In some cases, inadequate communication might occur due to conflicting information given to patients and family members. In that case, caregivers might offer unrealistic goals and continue with the treatment that is supposed to be stopped. The ethical principle that can solve the inadequate communication dilemma in hospice care is the principle of beneficence. Beneficence means that health professionals are required to do the right things for their patients. In this case, the right thing is to share the correct information with sick people and their families to avoid conflicts. When the patient can make decisions, family members should not be fully involved since some ill individuals require their health information to remain confidential.
Another ethical dilemma in hospice care is the offering of non-beneficial care. Specifically, non-beneficial care entails providing medical attention to a patient who does not need it. Health professionals might offer non-beneficial treatment if sick individuals are not at a point to get involved in decision-making. For example, suppose a patient is in his or her end-of-life due to a life-limiting illness. In that case, a caregiver should inform the sick person's family members to prepare for the end-of-life since nothing can be done to improve the patient's well-being. However, if health professionals continue to offer aggressive therapy, they provide non-beneficial treatment. The ethical principle that can address the problem of non-beneficial care provision is non-maleficence. Nurses are required not to harm their patients intentionally or unintentionally. When a physician provides non-beneficial care to a patient, it means that they are doing something that might harm the sick individual since no care is required at that point (Dennis, Washington, & Koenig, 2014). Caregivers should be the first people to make peace ...