Ethical Dilemma Statement (Essay Sample)

Ethical Dilemma
Student Name
Institution
Introduction
JZ is a 19 years old female suffering from SMA Type 1 and requires close monitoring of the ventilation support she uses and her hemodynamic status. Her mom was willing to pay for home care because she is not able to take care of her, but her request was denied, and JZ ended up in the hospital.
Ethical Dilemma Statement
Should JZ stay in hospital or home care?
One option would be for JZ to remain in the hospital and get treatment and care from there.
This would help manage the situation and return it to controllable levels. JZ’s mom would also be able to save the money she intends to use on private nursing services. Most importantly, JZ will be adequately monitored while using her respirator equipment coupled with the additional support available in the hospital ADDIN CSL_CITATION { "citationItems" : [ { "id" : "ITEM-1", "itemData" : { "DOI" : "10.1016/B978-0-7216-0435-0.50015-8", "ISBN" : "9780721604350", "ISSN" : "08898545", "PMID" : "20685558", "abstract" : "Sound ethical reasoning and moral judgment are essential to the work of a physician. Obstetricians make ethically complex decisions on a daily basis. Clinical medical ethics is a discipline that provides a structured approach for identifying, analyzing, and resolving ethical issues in clinical medicine. Obstetricians must become comfort-able addressing the ethical issues involved in clinical obstetrics and therefore must have an understanding of the key elements of clinical medical ethics. Balancing the principles of medical ethics can guide clinicians toward solutions to ethical dilemmas encountered in the care of pregnant women. In situations that seem to pit the interests of pregnant women against the interests of their fetuses, clinicians must be prepared to identify the key issues and relevant ethical aspects in cases encountered to find a solu-tion in the mother-fetus dyad. This article is not intended to turn the reader into an expert on medical ethics. The purpose of this article is to review the ethical foundations of clinical practice, recognize the ethical issues obstetricians face every day in caring for patients, and facilitate decision making. This article discusses the relevant ethical principles, identifies unique features of obstetric ethics, examines ethical principles as they apply to the mother and fetus, and thereby, provides a conceptual framework for considering ethical issues and facilitating decision making in clinical obstetrics.", "author" : [ { "dropping-particle" : "", "family" : "Mercurio", "given" : "Mark R.", "non-dropping-particle" : "", "parse-names" : false, "suffix" : "" } ], "container-title" : "Medical Complications During Pregnancy: Sixth Edition", "id" : "ITEM-1", "issued" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "2004" ] ] }, "page" : "223-233", "title" : "Ethical Issues in Obstetrics", "type" : "chapter" }, "uris" : [ "http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=9f075175-9cb1-4076-8c98-2094f29d1f2e" ] } ], "mendeley" : { "formattedCitation" : "(Mercurio, 2004)", "plainTextFormattedCitation" : "(Mercurio, 2004)", "previouslyFormattedCitation" : "(Mercurio, 2004)" }, "properties" : { "noteIndex" : 0 }, "schema" : "https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json" }(Mercurio, 2004).
This option would, however, come along with other associated risks and disadvantages. JZ will miss the comfort and the high quality of life at home with her family members.
Another option would be to take JZ back home and receive care while at home.
This option would enable JZ spend time with her family members and would be able to receive emotional support from them. JZ would also be able to enjoy a quality life in the comfort of her home with minimum hospital admissions.
This option would, however, expose JZ to the side effects of the disease due to her mom’s inability to take care of her. JZ would, therefore, find a lot of difficulties in taking care of herself while handling her breathing support equipment ADDIN CSL_CITATION { "citationItems" : [ { "id" : "ITEM-1", "itemData" : { "ISBN" : "978-1-55810-287-3", "ISSN" : "2251-6085", "PMID" : "11987640", "abstract" : "The American Nurses Association (ANA) is a national professional association. This ANA publica- tion\u2014Guide to the Code of Nursing: Interpretation and Application\u2014reflects the thinking of the nursing profession on various issues and should be reviewed in conjunction with state board of nursing policies and practices. State law, rules, and regulations govern the practice of nursing; Guide to the Code of Nursing: Interpretation and Application guides nurses in the application of their professional skills and responsibilities. The", "author" : [ { "dropping-particle" : "", "family" : "Fowler", "given" : "Marsha Diane", "non-dropping-particle" : "", "parse-names" : false, "suffix" : "" } ], "container-title" : "Guide to the Code of Nursing: Interpretation and Application", "id" : "ITEM-1", "issued" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "2010" ] ] }, "number-of-pages" : "176", "title" : "Guide to the code of ethics for nurses : interpretation and application", "type" : "book" }, "uris" : [ "http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=42c3db56-933e-4dbc-9702-fc72e57214de" ] } ], "mendeley" : { "formattedCitation" : "(Fowler, 2010)", "plainTextFormattedCitation" : "(Fowler, 2010)", "previouslyFormattedCitation" : "(Fowler, 2010)" }, "properties" : { "noteIndex" : 0 }, "schema" : "https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json" }(Fowler, 2010).
The author heard about this pediatric ethical dilemma through an article published by the hospital handling JZ’s situation.
The people involved in this dilemma included JZ’s mom, nurse, and her entire medical team.
The ANA Code of Ethics contains some provisions that are related to this dilemma. Provision 1 which states that “The nurse, in all professional relationships, practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of health problem” (American Nurses Association, 2015). Another provision that applies is Provision 4, which states that “The nurse is responsible and accountable for individual nursing practice and determines the appropriate delegation of tasks consistent with the nurse’s obligation to provide optimum patient care” (American Nurses Association, 2015).
Provision 1 would help in this dilemma because it talks about the professionalism and commitments with which nurses should go about their duties. The provision has particular interests in health care decision making and professional ethics ADDIN CSL_CITATION { "citationItems" : [ { "id" : "ITEM-1", "itemData" : { "author" : [ { "dropping-particle" : "", "family" : "Lo", "given" : "Bernard", "non-dropping-particle" : "", "parse-names" : false, "suffix" : "" } ], "edition" : "4", "id" : "ITEM-1", "issued" : { "date-parts" : [ [ "2009" ] ] }, "publisher" : "Lippincott Williams & Wilkins", "publisher-place" : "Philadelphia, PA", "title" : "Resolving ethical dilemmas : a guide for clinicians", "type" : "book" }, "uris" : [ "http://www.mendeley.com/documents/?uuid=66472942-cc46-46f0-9337-595969e91ed3" ] } ], "mendeley" : { "formattedCitation" : "(Lo, 2009)", "plainTextFormattedCitation" : "(Lo, 2009)", "previouslyFormattedCitation" : "(Lo, 2009)" }, "properties" : { "noteIndex" : 0 }, "schema" : "https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json" }(Lo, 2009).
Provision 4 would be essential in helping to find a solution to this dilemma since it talks about patient and family decision making as well as professional healthcare ethics. This research has been published in