Do Resuscitate Status a Legal and Ethical Challenge for...

Do Resuscitate Status: A Legal and Ethical Challenge for Nursing Shawn Wolkart Senior Integrative Seminar Spring A semester, 2010 University of Saint Mary Abstract A status of do resuscitate in those critically ill patients may result in a slow code. A slow code is a situation where the nursing staff decides to do less than the standard set forth by advanced life support algorithms and the nurse practice act and allow the patient to die instead of possibly sustaining life. The legal implications include falsification of documents and breaching the standard of care set forth by the nurse practice act. The ethical issues include malfeasance, dishonesty, and taking on the role of deciding who has a chance to live during a life†¦show more content†¦Although it has been many years since I rotated through an intensive care, I am sure these issues still arise. As a nurse I worked in the pediatric and neonatal ICU’s and thankfully was not exposed to this type of ethical dilemma. In those instances we did everything we could for those little lives. Today, I would report this to the manager and follow the chain of command. The staff needs education and training on end of life care and issues, legal and ethical dilemmas in relation to code status, and review of the nurse practice act. Reviewing legal cases and outcomes with the staff may also increase awareness of the dangers of practices such as slow codes. Nurses are to be healing, caring, empathetic and supportive of patients and families during critical illness, death and dying. At that time, I was just a student nurse and had yet to realize the consequences of this unethical practice. However, as a manager equipped with the knowledge of the ethical and legal dilemmas of a slow code, my actions today would be different. Involving the ethics committee in these cases would be encouraged. According to Pozgar (2007), â€Å"An ethics committee in the health care setting is a multidisciplinary committee that serves as a hospital resource to patients, families, and staff, offering an objective counsel when facing difficult health care issues and decis ions.† As aShow MoreRelatedThe Nurse And The Physician1575 Words   |  7 Pagesapproaches to resolve ethical issues, when giving information about a â€Å"Do not resuscitate (DNR)† form to the husband of the patient in ICU (Zerwekh, 2013, p. 420). When the physician showed the husband the DNR form, it stated that the physician pointed out what they could do for the patient. In this case, it is perceived that the physician highlighted the parts of the DNR form that would coerce the husband into signing the form, while leaving out what the hospital will no longer do for his wife onceRead MoreEthical Dilemmas for Nurses on End of Life Issues5633 Words   |  23 PagesETHICAL DILEMMAS FACING NURSES ON END-OF-LIFE ISSUES BASED ON CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS HELD IN ELDORET, KENYA Author: Kamau S. Macharia: BScN (Moi), MSc (studying) Nursing Leadership Health Care Systems Management (University of Colorado, Denver), Higher Dip. Critical Care Nursing (Nbi). Graduate Assistant, School of Nursing Biomedical Sciences, Kabianga University College (A Constituent College of Moi University), . P 0 Box 2030 20200 Kericho, Kenya Read More Medical Sociology Essay3862 Words   |  16 PagesMedical Sociology Introduction That the medical field is facing very difficult challenges, some of which are old and many which are new, is nothing new to the public. Issues such as the lack of health care coverage for everyone, the high cost of medical care and the growing distance between health care professionals and patients are only few highlights of this crisis. What is different about our current crisis is the approach that is taken in order to solve these problems. Present discussion