Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
This principle may create a duty when the law doesn’t - Doing Euthanasia & Assisted Suicide
something out of duty at times Orthothanasia – letting the incurably diseased person
Often conflicts with the principle of autonomy “die his own death’ while making no extra efforts to
Beneficent act: A nurse prevents a patient from acting prolong his life.
on suicidal impulses Passive Euthanasia – refraining of any medical
Good Samaritan Act treatment aimed at retarding death
Active Euthanasia – terminating a person’s life in a
Examples: painless way, at his request & with the intention to
Mon, a so-so swimmer, sees Marco drowning prevent person from suffering
Jay brings her lunch to school every day. One day, she
saw a thin boy watching her eat. The boy extends his Withholding treatment is an act of omission while
hands asking for food withdrawing treatment is an act of commission.
Treatment is not only in terms of medications but also
Non-Maleficence utilization of equipment, intubation, ventilators and
Duty to prevent or Avoid Harm Whether Intentional or feeding tubes
Unintentional
Does not mean avoidance of harm altogether… PRINCIPLE OF BENEFICENCE AND NON-MALEFICENCE
avoidance of harm unless the action promises a (Patient Benefit and Avoidance of Harm)
greater good Prologue of Hippocratic Oath
Different issues on euthanasia, withholding and “I will use treatment to help the sick according to my
withdrawing treatment and the use of artificial nutrition ability and judgment, but will never use it to injure or
and hydration wrong them.”
JUSTICE
Consider this: The duty to treat all patients fairly
Is it harmful to accept an assignment to “float” to an Equal treatment of equal cases and equal distribution
unfamiliar area that requires administration of of benefits - no discrimination on the basis of sex, race,
unfamiliar medications? religion, age and socioeconomic status
Is it acceptable to refuse an assignment? Involves allocation of scarce and expensive health
care resources
Go but choose patients that you could handle Triage
Only do something within your capability Medical screening of patients to determine their priority
General Rule: If what you did is what a prudent nurse of treatment
have done in the same situation, you are covered – Colors
Nursing Jurisprudence o Red
o Yellow
o Green
Examples: o Black
Tony has AIDS. He is bedridden and emaciated. He asks
the doctor to give him medicine to end his life Finite Resources
Perla has a lump in the breast. When she consults at a Limited fund, medical supplies, healthcare services
public hospital, the doctor asks 8 medical students to
feel the lump The needs of everyone, even if it’s due, cannot all be served
Consider this:
Is lying to a patient ever justified? If a patient finds out
that you have lied to them, will they have reason to
trust you?
FIDELITY
Obligation of an individual to be faithful to
commitments to him/herself and also to others
Main support for the concept of accountability
Keeping information confidential and maintaining
privacy and trust
Consider this:
To whom to do we owe fidelity? Who has the right to
access patient medical records? When should we “blow the
whistle” on unsafe staffing patterns?
Case:
The parents of 9-year old Kevin who is suffering from a
metastatic bone cancer request that the child not be told of the
illness. Should the attending doctor comply?