For instance, the Independent Commission on Assisted Dying recommends that doctors "be allowed to prescribe drugs to end the lives of terminally ill patients who have fewer than 12 months to live" (Beckford, n.p.) However, the commission according to Bedford further points out that such individuals must be "judged to have the mental capacity and clear desire to die." In such a case, physician-assisted suicide will be available to only a select few. ith the right mechanisms in place, fears over 'death on demand' or concerns regarding the 'commercialization of death' will be put to rest. In their own words, Kopelman and De Ville point out that "one very important factor affecting the potential for abuse of any practice is what safeguards are erected to guard against the abuses most feared and likely" (64). ith that in mind, the relevance of proper safeguards when it comes to physician-assisted suicide…...
mlaWorks Cited
Battin, Margaret P. Ending Life: Ethics and the Way We Die. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print.
Beckford, Martin. "Allow Assisted Suicide for Those with Less Than a Year to Live." The Telegraph. N.p., 5 January 2012. Web. 6 August 2012.
Bryant, Clifton D. Handbook of Death and Dying. Volume 1. California: SAGE, 2003. Print.
Devettere, Raymond J. Practical Decision making in Health Care Ethics: Cases and Concepts. 3rd ed. Washington: Georgetown University Press, 2009.
population ages, it will become increasingly important to know how to care for the chronically ill and dying elderly patients. An article in American Family Physician details one of the problems that arises in such cases: denial. The article tells about an incident where a man who is in constant pain repeatedly goes to the doctor, but will not accept that his symptoms could be caused by cancer. When the doctor offers to make a referral to hospice for extra help, the patient adamantly refuses the care. At first the physician does not give up his potential persuasions, which include stressing the patient's personal responsibility concerning the need for loved ones to see him free of pain. Yet the same scenario continues until, unfortunately, the man dies.
The author of the article, Dr. Karen Ogle, explains that denial is a common coping mechanism in the terminally ill. People rely on…...
mlaUnforunately, notes Ogle, there will always be those idividuals who never want to accept the truth and remain in denial until they die, like this above-noted patient,. This is even when such people realize the negative effect this is having on their spouse, children and other family members and friends.
This is not wrong or bad. Everyone has his or her own way of "dying well." How a person is acting has a reason, even if it is unknown to the observer. However, in some instances, the most beneficial support the healthcare profession can offer is just to join with the patient and his or her family in the manner elected but not understood by outsiders. This often means to leave behind the usual "toolbox" of medical responses and instead rely on the basic goodness of humankind. As she concludes: "Caring for the dying is remarkably challenging work. It can also be remarkably rewarding. If we meet the deeper challenges requiring our presence as human beings, this work can be among the greatest privileges of being a physician."
Ogle, Karen. "Approaching a terminally ill patient in denial." American Family Physician, October 1999. [electronic version].
Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in the Care of Terminally Ill Children
Pediatric nurse practitioners provide a valuable contribution to the care of chronically and terminally ill children. This position is essentially a subtype of advanced practice nurse, whose function is to provide the best possible patient care for ill children. This position functions within a pediatric hospital setting, in which the goal is to provide cost-effective patient care that meets and exceeds the needs of patients and their families. Although the pediatric nurse practitioner may work with children that present with acute or chronic illnesses, there is a critical need for nursing practitioners that are motivated to work with terminally ill children. Terminally ill children and their families present unique needs and situations that require knowledge, expertise, and intervention skills beyond what conventional nurses can offer. This population requires specialized care that can be fulfilled by a trained pediatric nurse practitioner.
Terminally…...
mlaReferences
Knight, J. (1990). The Betty Neuman Systems Model applied to practice: A client with multiple sclerosis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 15, 447-55.
McAtee, P. & Silver, H. (1974). Nurse practitioners for children: Past and future. Pediatrics, 54(5), 578-82.
De Moutigny, F. (1995). Family nursing interventions during hospitalization. Canadian Nurse, 91(10), 38-42.
Teicher, S., Crawford, K., Williams, B., Nelson, B., Andrews, C. (2001). Emerging role of the pediatric nurse practitioner in acute care. Pediatric Nursing, 27(4), 387-91.
Nutrition: Ethical or Unethical?
Should nurses withhold or withdraw nutrition & Hydration from terminally ill patients? This is a question that boggles the mind. Some feel that withholding anything from any patient is unethical, while others feel it is acceptable because we must promote quality of life. Furthermore, who decides within this issue the outcome of the patient? Nurses? Nurses? The Court? Recently, we have decided on a combination of the two. However, in order to discover what is actually best for patients, it is important to exmaine this paper.
What care is 'futile'? Throughout the years, the question of whether or not to withhold certain treatments to terminally ill patients has been addressed. Do we continue to treat people who are still alive, even if we know that there is no hope? This is a question that has been asked over and over again by various parties. This notion is…...
mlaIssue: July, 2000 Nursing Library.
Huffman, Grace. "Artificial Nutritional Support..." Internet. Available Online. http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m3231/7_30/63583997/p1/article.jhtml?term=withholding+care+to+terminally+ill+patients
Issue: July 1, 2001 American Family Physician.
ethics prepared here, is based on two primary sources, (Callahan, 2012) and (achels, 2012). The article discusses the need to legalize and regulate voluntary active euthanasia in the United States (U.S.).
Can We eturn Death to Disease?
Callahan (2012) presents medical, moral and metaphysical perspectives to show the differences between active and passive euthanasia. He is of the notion that even though humans, through medicine, may be able to prevent death temporarily; there exist external factors that are beyond our control. Euthanasia refers to the act of painlessly putting to death individuals who are ailing from untreatable diseases or conditions. Some have referred to the act as a release from incurable, painful suffering. However, others argue that euthanasia initiated by a terminally ill patient as amounts to suicide. This is because it is the responsibility of physicians to treat and comfort their patients, not to use their medical expertise to kill…...
mlaReferences
Rachels, J. (2012). Active and Passive Euthanasia. Ultimate Issues in Current Nursing Ethics, 180-186.
Wolhandler, S. (1984). Voluntary Active Euthanasia for the Terminally Ill and the Constitutional Right to Privacy. Cornell Law Review, 363-383.
It is related that "This patterns of delayed referral does more than deprive individuals of palliative care-it jeopardizes hospice programs themselves. To be financially viable, hospice programs, which receive per diem reimbursements, must be able to balance out the high initial costs of services to new patients with the lower costs of maintaining stabilized patients." (Open Society Institute - Project on Death in America, 2007) Finally, it is related that "high quality end-of-life care depends upon an integrated network of in-hospital, out-patient, home and nursing home services." (Open Society Institute - Project on Death in America, 2007) Issues requiring research which present barriers to the provision of comprehensive quality palliative care include the issues as follows: (1) How does the six-month eligibility requirement affect patient access to end-of-life care?; (2) What is the impact of delayed referrals on hospice services?; (3) Are there cost incentives within HMOs to rush…...
mlaBibliography
Thomas, Keri Dr. (2003) Caring for the Dying at Home: Companions on the Journey. Chapter Five Excerpts. Online available at http://www.goldstandardsframework.nhs.uk/content/guides_and_presentations/Evidence_base.doc
Cramer, LD et al. (2003) Nurse's Attitudes and Practice Related to Hospice Care. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2003;35:249-255
Wright, K. (2002) Caring for the Terminally Ill: The District Nurse's Perspective. Br J. Nurs. 2002;11:1180-1185
Palliative Care (2007) Nursing Matters - Fact Sheet. Online available at http://www.icn.ch/matters_palliative.htm
business strategy class, group assigned a case study. It a 12-20-page paper, responsibility write 4 pages, part write. Here teacher instruction: "A case study assigned group. Additionally a rubric showing material case study included.
Ethics: Euthanasia
Recently, a young woman dying of brain cancer in Queens was forced to engage in a legal struggle with her own parents to 'win' the 'right to die. "Paralyzed from the waist down, the 28-year-old woman won court approval last week to be taken off life support, a move challenged by her devout Christian parents who claimed that would be tantamount to suicide and would be a sin that would send their daughter to hell. After winning the right to die, Grace changed her mind. Her lawyer, David Smith, said she made the decision out of love for her parents and to alleviate their suffering" (Scott 2012). This case illustrates how right-to-die cases can tear…...
mlaWorks Cited
Fraser, Sharon I. & James W. Walters. Death - whose decision? Euthanasia and the terminally ill. Medical Ethics 26 (2000):121-125. [21 Oct 2012]
http://jme.bmj.com/content/26/2/121.full
Quill, Timothy E. "Terri Schiavo -- a tragedy compounded." The New England Journal of Medicine, 352(2005):1630-1633. [21 Oct 2012] http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp058062
Scott, Marvin. "Saving grace." WPIX. 2012. [21 Oct 2012]
Euthanasia, Should Terminally Ill Patients Be Allowed to End Their Lives Via Assisted Suicide
TEMINALLY ILL PATIENTS BE ALLOWED TO END THEI LIVES VIA ASSISTED SUICIDE
Euthanasia, notably called assisted killing or mercy killing, is perhaps one of the medical prescriptions that have always raised varied and multifaceted arguments, most of which have never reached any solid conclusion. Clinicians are prone to take every necessary step necessary to keep the health of a patient at stable conditions. Nonetheless, there come a time when the patient knows, together with the clinician, that there is a lesser chance of survival. In such situations, health professionals are stuck between assisting the patient to die, notably by using an external means, or letting him or her to fight for life until death, something that might be painful, both to the clinicians, the patients, and even the loved ones. Assisting a patient to die, with or without…...
mlaReference
Weber, W. (2000). Dutch Proposal for Children's Right To Euthanasia Withdrawn. Lancet, 356(9226), 322.
young, most of us do not think about making a conscious decision to die. e look forward to years of long and healthy life, and if death ever seems appealing it is as an antidote to depression. It does not often, if ever, occur to us that there will be a time when we look forward to the "good death" promised by euthanasia.
But it is inevitable that for many of us there will come a time in our lives when suicide may indeed seem appealing because we are fighting a losing battle against a certainly fatal disease that fills our remaining days with pain and despair. In such a position many of us may wish to have our doctors help us die by prescribing for us drugs that when we ourselves take them will prove to be fatal. Or we may wish that other people should have this option…...
mlaWorks Cited
Callahan, Daniel, "Good Strategies and Bad: Opposing physician-assisted suicide," Commonweal, December 3, 1999, sec1. 7+.
Cassel, Christine K. "AMA Guidelines for Caring for Patients in the Last Phase of Life.," CQ Researcher 7 (1997): 774. ( http://www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/amnews/amn_97/edit0721.htm )
Humphrey, Derek. Euthanasia: Essays and Briefings on the Right to Die. Los Angeles: Hemlock Society, 1991. http://deathwithdignity.org/euth_us2htm .
Orric, Sarah. "House Judiciary Committee Rationale." Congressional Digest 77 (1998); 263-264.
Additionally, I believe:
Voluntary euthanasia devalues life, like the disabled, the mentally incompetent, the terminally ill. (Verhagen, Sauer and Callahan 6).
It is against the various religious beliefs, including the Islamic faith, Buddhism, and certain Christian creeds.
The attending doctor should have the final say over the treatment of the patient in keeping with the Hippocratic Oath .
Doctor- monitored palliative care can allow the affected patient to die in peace, in a natural course of death.
Counseling and support can ease fear of death and pain.
Voluntary euthanasia devalues life. A method for judging the morality of this act is the Principle of Double Effect. Arguments against this act include: the devaluation of life concern, going against various religious belief systems; palliative care options should be provided first; and counseling and support should be first choice options.
orks Cited
Sulmasey, D.P. And E.D. Pelligrino. "The Rule of Double Effect." Archives of Internal Medicine (1999): 545-550.
Verhagen, a.A.…...
mlaWorks Cited
Sulmasey, D.P. And E.D. Pelligrino. "The Rule of Double Effect." Archives of Internal Medicine (1999): 545-550.
Verhagen, a.A. Eduard, et al. "Are Their Babies Different from Ours?": Dutch Culture and the Groningen Protocol." Hastings Center Report 38.4 (2008): 4-7.
Life and Death: The Life Support Dilemma by Kenneth E. Schemmer M.D
Kenneth Schemmer in his thorough, thought provoking book brings to life the controversial subject of the life support issue. For years, many all over the country have pondered, "What if a person were in some kind of an accident and the physicians told them that they were not going to make it?" And all that he or she could do is just lie there in extreme pain waiting for their life to the end. Or even worse case scenario what if they happened to end up completely brain dead? These debated questions are taken on by Dr. Schemmer in making his point that life support decisions may not necessarily be the decision of the family, the doctor or the patient but by a higher being that gives life and takes life. Schemmer uses these controversial questions in his…...
mlaReferences:
Court backs right to die | terminally ill have right to refuse medical life support. (1984, Dec 28). The San Diego Union, pp. A.1-1.
Ackerman, T. (2005, Mar 27). Life support battle shifts / A decade ago, patients families had to press for 'right to die. Houston Chronicle, pp. 1-B.1.
Allen, P. (2000, Oct 07). Right to die upheld despite new euro law, doctors can end life support rules judge. Daily Mail, pp. 33-33.
Dolan, M. (2001, Aug 10). Justices deal setback to right-to-die movement; health: State court bans removal of life support from conscious patients whose wishes are not clear. Los Angeles Times, pp. A.1-A.1.
Patients also say they want to awake and conscious when their pain is managed. The issue is that there are not many U.S. physicians and nurses who are certified to extend palliative care. There are only 33 physicians and only 41 nurses for every 10,000 patients (Peres).
The hospice movement has been changing the face of care for people at the end-of-life stage (Radulovic 2004). Hospices have been providing options and choices to these patients for the last three decades. The hospice movement began in the UK but spread to America in response to the need for more compassionate care for the dying and terminally ill. A hospice is not a place but a concept of palliative and support services for the terminally ill to be cared for primarily at home. A home can be the patient's residence or that of a loved one, a long-term care facility. It provides…...
mlaBibliography
Bone, Roger C. Analysis of Indications for Intensive Care Unit Admissions. Chest:. American College of Chest Physicians, December 1993
Earl, C et al. "Rise in Aggressive Treatment." Trends in the Aggressiveness of Cancer Care Near the End of Life. Journal of Clinical Oncology:. Springhouse Corporation, 2007
Peres, Judith. U.S. End-of-Life Gets Passing Grade. Health Care Benchmarks and Quality Improvement: American Health Consultants, Inc., 2003
Radulovic, Jan.W. Trends in Hospice and Palliative Care in the United States and Kansas. Kansas Nurse: Kansas State Nurses Association, 2004
Euthisanina
Euthanasia is a big health controversy that has been discussed for many decades. People hold differing beliefs and opinions in regards to euthanasia. The term euthanasia basically means the practice of willingly terminating a person's life in order to relieve the person of any suffering or pain. Taking of the person's life is usually at the express instructions of the person. There are two different kinds of euthanasia involuntary and voluntary euthanasia. According to Jochemsen and Keown (1999)
voluntary euthanasia involves the patient having requested that their life be taken in case they suffer from an incurable disease which is causing them too much suffering and pain. Involuntary euthanasia occurs when a doctor or physician makes the decision to terminate a patient's life because the patient cannot recover and keeping them on life support will not have any positive effect.
Euthanasia does contradict with the basic moral principle of life that…...
mlaReferences
Asch, D.A., & DeKay, M.L. (1997). Euthanasia among U.S. Critical Care Nurses: Practices, Attitudes, and Social and Professional Correlates. Medical Care, 35(9), 890-900. doi: 10.2307/3767454
Campbell, N. (1999). A Problem for the Idea of Voluntary Euthanasia. Journal of Medical Ethics, 25(3), 242-244. doi: 10.2307/27718299
Jochemsen, H., & Keown, J. (1999). Voluntary Euthanasia under Control? Further Empirical Evidence from the Netherlands. Journal of Medical Ethics, 25(1), 16-21. doi: 10.2307/27718228
Moulton, B.E., Hill, T.D., & Burdette, A. (2006). Religion and Trends in Euthanasia Attitudes among U.S. Adults, 1977-2004. Sociological Forum, 21(2), 249-272. doi: 10.2307/4540938
Taking one's life as a result of the fact that the respective person is expected to suffer inhumane pain for several years until his or her death cannot possibly be compared with murder or suicide. Morality should actually be combined with logics in understanding euthanasia and people need to be more sympathetic and less egocentric regarding individuals who prefer euthanasia as the "safe way out."
ibliography:
Allen, Jen & Chavez, Sonia & Desimone, Sara & Howard, Debbie & Johnson, Keadron & Lapierre, Lucinda & Montero, Darrel & Sanders, Jerry "Americans' Attitudes toward Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide, 1936-2002," Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare 33.2 (2006)
Dowbiggin, Ian a Merciful End: The Euthanasia Movement in Modern America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003)
Gailey, Elizabeth Atwood Write to Death: News Framing of the Right to Die Conflict, from Quinlan's Coma to Kevorkian's Conviction (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003)
Neuhaus, Richard John "The Always Lively Newsletter Catholic…...
mlaBibliography:
Allen, Jen & Chavez, Sonia & Desimone, Sara & Howard, Debbie & Johnson, Keadron & Lapierre, Lucinda & Montero, Darrel & Sanders, Jerry "Americans' Attitudes toward Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide, 1936-2002," Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare 33.2 (2006)
Dowbiggin, Ian a Merciful End: The Euthanasia Movement in Modern America (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003)
Gailey, Elizabeth Atwood Write to Death: News Framing of the Right to Die Conflict, from Quinlan's Coma to Kevorkian's Conviction (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003)
Neuhaus, Richard John "The Always Lively Newsletter Catholic Eye Reflects on Why it Is That Older People Who Are Strongly Pro-Life Are Tempted to Succumb to a Measure of Ambivalence When the Subject Turns to Euthanasia," First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life May 2007: 65
While the medical field agrees that prolonged suffering is not a desired product of medical care it has not yet reached the point of accepting that it is actually torture.
When we are at war we have soldiers how are standing trial for the torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners of war, however, we are not allowed to prevent that same level of torture from being thrust upon our loved ones who are ill / this makes no sense. Making someone endure the fevers, the pain, and the physical maladies that come with many of the life ending diseases today is actually a form of torture. It makes a person suffer against their will and at the hands of someone else, in this case the medical community.
More recently there have been strong arguments in courtrooms regarding Euthanasia and the right to choose to die now rather than later after suffering.
In the…...
mlaReferences
____(2006) Jury to Rule Whether Woman Had Right to Die
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Doerr, Ed. (1997)The Right to Die. The Humanist
These statements can serve as a foundation for essays that explore various dimensions of end-of-life care, including ethical considerations, the impact of technology, the importance of palliative care, and the role of family and caregivers. Each thesis sets the stage for a detailed discussion on its respective topic, allowing for a deep dive into the complexities and nuances involved in end-of-life care and decision-making.
"The implementation of advanced care planning significantly improves end-of-life care by ensuring that individuals' preferences and values are respected, highlighting the need for more widespread adoption of these practices in healthcare settings."
"While technological advancements in medicine have....
Thesis: Physician-assisted suicide, as a controversial topic surrounding end-of-life decisions, necessitates a comprehensive exploration of moral, ethical, and legal aspects in order to understand the potential benefits and consequences it may have on terminally ill patients and healthcare providers.
One way to refine the thesis statement could be to focus on the specific impact of physician-assisted suicide on patients and healthcare providers. For example:
Revised Thesis: The moral, ethical, and legal considerations surrounding physician-assisted suicide raise important questions about the impact it has on terminally ill patients and healthcare providers, underscoring the need for a more nuanced examination of its implications on....
I. Introduction
A. Brief explanation of physician-assisted suicide (PAS)
B. Importance of the topic
II. Background
A. Historical context of PAS
B. Legal status of PAS in different countries
III. Arguments in Favor of Physician-Assisted Suicide
A. Autonomous decision-making
1. Patient's right to choose
2. Respect for individual autonomy
B. Alleviating suffering
1. Relief from unbearable pain
2. Improving quality of life
IV. Ethical Considerations
A. Medical ethics
1. Beneficence and non-maleficence
2. Respect for patient's autonomy
B. Religious and cultural beliefs
1. Views on the sanctity of life
2. Impact of diverse beliefs on PAS acceptance
V. Arguments against Physician-Assisted Suicide
A. Slippery....
Here are some essay topics related to end of life that you can consider:
1. The ethical implications of end-of-life decisions, such as euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.
2. The importance of advanced care planning and how it can impact end-of-life care decisions.
3. The role of spirituality and religion in coping with end-of-life issues.
4. The challenges and benefits of hospice care for terminally ill patients.
5. The impact of cultural beliefs and practices on end-of-life care.
6. The role of palliative care in improving quality of life for patients with terminal illnesses.
7. The psychological and emotional effects of caring for a loved one at the....
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