A 22-year-old victim of a car accident had a broken
neck and was a quadriplegic. After many months in painful
rehabilitation with little progress, he asked that he be allowed to
die by starvation while receiving only basic physical care and pain
medications in the hospital. The physician refused to honor the
request and ordered a feeding tube inserted to force-feed the
client and keep him alive.
Questions for Thought
1. On what ethical principle did the physician base his decisions
and actions?
2. Should the nurse carry out an order that clearly seemed to
violate the client’s right to self-determination?
3. What actions might the nurse have taken?
4. What would be the possible consequences to these
actions?
1. The ethical principle on the basis of which the physician might have made his decision and actions is beneficence - doing good for the patient.
2. The nurse should not carry out any order that clearly violates the clients rights to self determination . But in this case it's for the good of the patient and also the physician has refused to honour the request. So, she has to follow the physicians order .
3. As per the principle , she must act accordingly to the patient by respecting his self determination .
4. The possible consequences can lead to court case against the organisation for not allowing the patient to make decision regarding his treatment and can cause a severe penalty and license suspension .
A 22-year-old victim of a car accident had a broken neck and was a quadriplegic. After...
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