Preview

Ethics

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1672 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ethics
Assessment Task 2: Individual Essay

This paper with be focusing on case scenario 3. The patient in this scenario is Jennifer Vaughan, 34. She lives with her partner William, has no children yet. They have two pet dogs. Her parents live an hour drive away and see her father once a week. Her parents have no history of cancer. Jennifer presented to hospital with abdomen pain and fullness. After laparotomy, it was found that Jennifer has carcinoma of right ovary which was followed by right oophorectomy. Three months after her early treatment, she was diagnosed with lymph node metastases on her right groin which means her disease has spread and cannot be cured. Jennifer will now be in palliative care setting, where the main aim is symptom management and deliver quality life. This concept includes many subjective elements such as physical, emotional and social function, cultural, attitudes to illness, patient’s daily living activities including communication with the family. However, in the following paragraphs, issues relating to Jennifer’s situation such as physiological, psychological, social and spiritual will be discussed briefly. The issues mentioned above will also demonstrate the complication of Jennifer’s experience and how the Registered Nurse (RN) is effectively able to care holistically while making sure that all care provided is of high ethical standard.

Firstly, from the case scenario, the physiological issue of Jennifer include symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fatigue, anorexia, weight loss, constipation and difficulty in ambulating. According to Farrell and Dempsey (2011) the symptoms of ovarian cancer include increasing abdominal pain, pelvic pressure, bloating, indigestion, flatulence, gastrointestinal symptoms. The assessment and management of pain in the palliative care setting is the most significant role of RN in order to provide comfort and ease the death of the person, at the same time maintaining the dignity of the



References: Campion, B., (2010). Spiritual care at the end of life : the influence of dame Cicely saunders. Canadian catholic bioethics institute 8(6). Retrieved from http://www.ccbi-utoronto.ca/documents/bioethic_matters/2010/BMVol8number6_SpiritualCare_Cicely%20Saunders.pdf Craven, O. (2000). Palliative care provision and its impact on psychological morbidity in cancer patients.International Journal of Palliative Nursing, 6(10), 501-507. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Farrell, M. & Dempsey, J. (2011). Smeltzer & Bare’s textbook of medical- surgical nursing (2nd ) Philadelphia :Lippincott William & Wilkins Ferrell, B., Levy, M., & Paice, J. (2008). Managing pain from advanced cancer in the palliative care setting. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 12(4), 575-581. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Legg, M. (2011). What is psychosocial care and how can nurses better provide it to adult oncology patients. Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, 28(3), 61-67. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Lockwood-Rayermann, S. (2006). Survivorship Issues in Ovarian Cancer: A Review. Oncology Nursing Forum, 33(3), 553-562. doi:10.1188/06.ONF.553-562 Lynch, B., & Sarazine, J. (2006). A guide to understanding malignant bowel obstruction. International Journal of Palliative Nursing, 12(4), 164. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Mystakidou, K., Parpa, E., Tsilika, E., Kalaidopoulou, O., & Vlahos, L. (2002). The families evaluation on management, care and disclosure for terminal stage cancer patients. BMC Palliative Care, 13-8. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Searle, C., & McInerney, F. (2008). Creating comfort: Nurses ' perspectives on pressure care management in the last 48 hours of life. Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession, 29(2), 147-158. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Villagomeza, L.R., 2005, ‘Spiritual distress in adult cancer patients: Toward conceptual clarity’, Holistic Nursing Practice 19(6), 285–294.…

    • 2220 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, at some point, it becomes essential that doctors and other providers talk to their patients about how their disease will progress and their prognosis and also discuss options outside of drugs and chemotherapy. One solution that can solve the problem is ensuring that doctors sit down and talk to their patients about end of life care. It is imperative to know the patient’s wishes in order to provide the best patient-centered care; however, many doctors avoid these discussions due to a number of reasons, one of the most cited being afraid of how the discussion will impact the patient’s psychological status. One study looked at the impact that these discussions had on the patient’s mental health, care towards end-of-life and caregiver bereavement. They found that patients who had end-of-life discussions did not suffer any psychological harm and had less emotional distress and psychiatric disorders than those who did not have these discussions. Additionally, the discussions led to less aggressive treatment in the final week of life associated with a higher quality of life and caregivers who showed less regret and a higher quality of life (Wright, et al.,…

    • 1074 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Forrest, L., RMT. (2011). Supportive Cancer Care at the End of Life: Mapping the Cultural…

    • 145 Words
    • 1 Page
    Best Essays
  • Best Essays

    Clostridium Difficile

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages

    5. Vorrick, Linda J., MD. “Pseudomembranous Colitis.” Medline Plus. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Apr. 2010. Web. 22 June 2011. <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000259.htm>.…

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    A terminal illness can have a devastating effect, not only on the patient, but the family as well. Caring for the patient does not just involve physically caring for the patient, but rather involves the holistic care, which is “all nursing practice that has healing the whole person as its goal” (American Holistic Nurses’ Association, 1998). The nurse becomes the therapeutic partner, which involves the care of the mind, body, and spirit, and is at the forefront of this care. It involves the patient and the care of the family during this difficult time.…

    • 1460 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The team should be knowledgeable to give proactive care, understand the patient's preferences and forgive conflicts. The process of truth telling in advanced cancer or any other terminal illness can be a difficult task. Whenever a patient is too moribund and not in a suitable mental stage, the family carers are required to give informed consent. The doctor and nurse in the palliative care team have to build the communication with a responsible family carer so that confidentiality and dignity for patient's last stage are maintained.[1,2] Communication is meant to deal with ethical questions regarding two fundamental aspects of Palliative Care: To explain the concept of a good death and to resolve the conflicting needs of patient vis-à-vis family.[8]…

    • 183 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nurse Practitioner Model

    • 1818 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Hospice can be described as a philosophy of care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient’s symptoms while providing emotional and spiritual support for them and their family (Meirer, McCormick, & Lagman, 2015). The hospice model of care focuses on improving quality of life rather than prolonging it, and holistically embraces the principles of dying with comfort and dignity. This model uses an interdisciplinary team to develop an individualized plan of care that addresses all aspects of care and is based on the patient’s goals and cultural values (Meirer, McCormick, & Lagman,…

    • 1818 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The idea of quality of life in nursing care has been shaped by the philosophies of Florence Nightingale, and the World Health Organization considers psychosocial care and quality of life to be a right of individuals receiving physical health care (Sandau et al., 2013, p.211). Health-related quality of life has become an increasingly prevalent area of focus in healthcare, especially in the management of chronic and terminal…

    • 1248 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Compassion Fatigue

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Compassion fatigue is most frequently reported amongst nurses, doctors and other frontline care providers in direct interaction with patients. This condition significantly effects these professionals’ interaction with patients, with families of patients and even with other health workers. In extreme cases, problems in interaction with own family has been reported according to Reese (2009). Reese (2009) further states there is an increasingly awareness of the profound emotional disturbances that occur in health care providers when they witness the pain and suffering of the patients in the face of an incurable disease such as cancer. Care providers are often partners in the journey of the patients they are attending. At present, an understanding of the effects of the treatment of terminally ill on the caregiver is limited.…

    • 1480 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Vulnerable Populations

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages

    E. Watson et al. “Depression Assessment and Classification in Palliative Cancer Patients”, ©2009, Pain and Palliation Research Group, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.…

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The goal was to give nurses the opportunity to recognize feelings of grief and loss by identifying ways to renew their personal strengths and well-being. The techniques used was spirituality, music, yoga and even relaxation. This intervention also promoted physical health, development of appropriate work-life balance, seek professional help when needed, and recognize the positive impact nurses have on patients and families. According to Potter et. al., “although it is sometimes difficult to find the appropriate time to discuss religion and spirituality in hospital settings, nurses need to assess what is important to spiritual well-being” (p.111). It is pivotal for nurses to address their feelings, because assessing patients who are fighting for cancer may cause unrecognized…

    • 480 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some may think that with the advanced care available today, they will not suffer. They are very wrong. “The people from palliative care reassured him that he would not suffer. He did suffer. Although he was in one of the best palliative care facilities in Melbourne, dying was a slow, cruel process,” (Edelman, 2017, p. 1). And, while palliative care, “‘Can help make it a little bit better,’” people are, “‘Still going to suffer from loss of strength, loss of ability to eat or swallow, breathe properly. These are things that palliative care is going to hopefully make it a little easier to face but they’re not going to take it away,’” (Tompson, 2014, p. 4). Most in these states are cancer sufferers, who are not doing very well and have little time left. In some of the worst cases, the cancer will progress and several rounds of treatment will not stop this. A scenario like this left one woman in a state where, “The cancer in her brain was progressing despite several rounds of treatment. At 68, she spent most of her day asleep and needed an aide to help with basic tasks,” (Span, 2017, p. 1). At the end, despite treatments and medication not working, most are still forced to live with morphine thrumming through their veins and a tube down their throat. One man who lost his mother stated that,“‘ There was clearly no possible hope of reprieve, yet she was still forced to linger...The whole thing just felt…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    References: Corner, J., & Bailey, C. (2008). Cancer nursing care in context (2nd Ed.). Oxford: Blackwell…

    • 1372 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nursing Career Paper

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Nursing has become a harder profession to get into. It is one of the most rewarding professions out there in the world. A patient wants to be reassured that the person taking care of them knows what they are talking about, and know what to do when the time comes. Nursing is more than just helping people get better. It is a livelihood that a registered nurse can be proud of achieving.…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Lugton J. & Kindlen M. (2000) Palliative care: The nursing role. 2nd Edition. Harcourt Brance Ltd.…

    • 3442 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays