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Ethical Issues In Hospice Nursing |
INTRODUCTION
Caring for patients and families during the end-of-life often involves sensitive
issues about death and dying. As such, there are many difficult decisions regarding
patient care, so ethical decision- making is critical in hospice nursing. Once a
patient’s illness progresses, pathophysiology and curative measures becomes less
important and personal meaning and the quality of life become more significant.
Thus, this framework of the quantity of life versus quality of remaining life is the
basic foundation to many ethical dilemmas faced by hospice nurses.
Of the many concerns in hospice care, none illicit as much controversy as those issues
surrounding pain management, artificial nutrition and hydration, and palliative sedation.
In the course of hospice care, it is very possible that a patient may no longer be
competent to make their own decisions. Respecting the patient’s autonomy and allowing
them to have control over their own treatment is important in end-of-life care. Since
hospice care is family-oriented there are conflicts which can arise not only between
family members about the care of the dying patient but also conflicts between the family
members and the hospice nurse regarding the patient’s plan of care.
The American Nurse’s Association Code of Ethics
offers guidance to the nursing professional regarding the profession’s ethical
values and duties to the public. Many individual hospice organizations have their
own ethical guidelines, but several widely accepted ethical codes concern the practice
of hospice nursing. Based on the ethical principles of respect for others, beneficence,
and justice,
The Hospice and Palliative Nurse Association Code of Ethics
is one of the most respected ethical guidelines for those nurses dedicated to the quality of end-of-life care.
