Ethical principles MAJOR HELP PLS! :(

[tinkerbell23]

hi guys, a few of you may remember i asked a question donkeys ago about informing patients of a diagnosis....

i am about to submit this, and i am TOTALLY stumped on the ethcal principles the situation may throw at me. (realstic scenario)

i dont even think i fully understand "ethics" can anyone dumb it down please i could actually cry trying to do this for hours and hours on end now with no joy!!!

sore back head and eyes from bloody sitting typing lol :0(((

http://www.theanswerb...l/Question911015.html

[karenmac60]

Basically it's just about doing the right thing Tinks. What is right for the patient, helping them maintain dignity, giving them informed choice, acting in their best interest and allowing them to choose their treatment. In your scenario of the mother/daughter, then the daughter would have no right to keep information from her mum or choose her treatment for her - it would be ethically and morally wrong. The mother would have the right to be told of her condition, be given her options and supported in her choices. Try not to overthink it - it really is just as simple as right and wrong.

[karenmac60]

ps - the daughter could counteract with saying she is doing the best thing by protecting her mum, and keeping her happy in her last days.

[tinkerbell23]

karen, tht really helps me alot...i think ive sat THAT long, and done parts on professionalism that my head is now pickled...but i want to do as much now as i can,

im always full of good intentions of getting up early, and i wont ...lol so ill b better to stay up late!! thanks so much...i have to straighten my head out.....!! x

[tinkerbell23]

yes true- i will do a part on maternalism....
have also stated about financial gain, bla bla!! haha oooh its interesting i suppose but writing it is quite hard to get it to flow x

[karenmac60]

Take a break from the computer though Tinks, give your face a splash of cold water, stretch your legs, get a breath of fresh air, have a coffee. Once your head has cleared get back to it, but don't keep struggling on if you're just getting yourself in more and more of a fankle :)

[bednobs]

hi, didn't read all the answers but the simpliest thing to say/do is to ask the lady herself if she wants to know more about her diagnosis

[Cathyhuns]

I always used to think that patients and their families should know the truth about their prognosis but following my mother's illness I'm not so sure.

My mother had an operation for bowel cancer. She told us that she didn't need any further treatment, such as chemo, because she'd been cured. We then had 18 months where we all thought that she'd escaped cancer and life was really good. My father later told me that those 18 months were some of the happiest of their marriage.

18 months later the cancer returned and it turned out that the reason she'd had no treatment was that the type of cancer she had almost always returned and was then terminal. We then had a difficult few months where we could do nothing to help our mother and were effectively waiting for her to die.

My mother never said whether she'd known her prognosis all along and chose not to tell us. However I do know that we would all have found those 18 months incredibly difficult if we had known all along that her cancer was terminal.

However from experience with my father in law who died from lung cancer - his disease caused him to be quite confused and even though we told him he had cancer I'm not sure he really understood as we had to re-tell him almost every time we went to visit.

[ayabrea38]

If it where me,I would want to know what is wrong with me.You say she is all there,so why should she not be more worried bout not knowing what is wrong with herself.Are you supposed to lie to the old lady about what is wrong with her,I presume that is what the daughter is planning.The danger is that she could find out and then distrust everyone around her,and be rather miffed at her daughter for hiding and lying about things.That's my point of view anyway!

[tinkerbell23]

i want to thank you all for sharing your opinions and experiences- it really gets my mind going when i hear others views- so thank you- i will let you know the outcome! hopefully good haha

and any other opinions feel free....thanks again ABers xxx

[rowanwitch]

Perhaps it is a mininium harm/maximum benefit issue.....

or you might want to use as model like Seedhouse's Ethical grid to help you focus on the key issues and use as evidence that while you discounted or didn't discuss some issues within a holistic framework you did use a methodology that made discounting them part of a structured rather than intuitive process

[tinkerbell23]

guys- just a a thanks to both links- i really appreciate your help on this 150 words left to do now- yay!!! xxxxxxx

thank again you have reall really hlped me xx

[Ellipsis]

Here's a good article on ethical principles ...

http://www.scu.edu/et...cision/framework.html

In a nutshell, the most ethical choice is that which does the most good and the least harm to all of the stakeholders in the decision.

[starone]

I always thought I would not want to know, until my husband had his last illness and now I am glad I was told how long he had (two weeks) so that I could stay by him as long as possible each day. He was, of course, ill for much longer than that but only in the hospital for the last two weeks.

[tinkerbell23]

yes star, i personally think if i knew i was terminally ill, that i wouldnt want to know as im scared of dying, and iwould waste my time i had left worryiing i really would!!!

however, as an (almost) nurse, this scenario has really made me think! and i wouldnt be comfortable not telling a patient- dont think i would hav a leg to stand on to be honest to say why i didnt!!- its been hard going, but very thought provoking- a 2500 word small book later lol - i just hope its good enough xx