ESSAY: Advocacy Paper

Choose a patient-care situation in which the RN should intervene and advocate for the patient. An example of such a situation might be when a patient has not been given complete informed consent.

Include the following in your paper:
Describe the clinical situation concisely and descriptively. It can be an actual situation or a hypothetical one.
Apply the Bioethical Decision Making Model to the specific clinical ethical situation that you choose. Address each section of the model in your paper.
Conclude with a discussion of nursing advocacy in the clinical setting and the nurse’s role as a patient advocate.
Your paper should be 4-5 pages.
You must reference and cite 1-2 scholarly sources other than your text. Include a title page and a reference page to cite your text and adhere to APA formatting.
Review the rubric for further information on how your assignment will be graded.

ANSWER

Advocacy Paper

A Registered Nurse (RN) is the link between the patient and the doctor or the patient’s family members. An RN is expected to play various roles when it comes to the proper care of their patients and advocacy of their needs. First, they are meant to ensure the patient’s safety by communicating their demands to the managers (Carvalho et al., 2018). Secondly, they should educate the patient on the possible options of treatment and the state of their condition. Thirdly, they are expected to be the patient’s voice in communicating their wishes to their family or finding out more information about their situation. Lastly, an RN is supposed to protect the patient’s rights, no matter the views and opinions of the family members.

An example of a situation that requires an RN’s advocacy and intervention would be in ensuring a chronic patient’s wishes not to be plugged into life support machines. The patient requested that he be allowed to live in comfort until his death. The patient expressed his wishes, verbally to his medical team. He was asking that they ensure that he was in no pain for the remainder of his life. He also did not wish to be intubated.

The medical facts of the patient’s condition factored into the patient’s decision. First, the prognosis was that the patient had chronic cancer, and the administering of chemotherapy would only help to lengthen his life for a month (Serna & Seoane, 2016). The chemo would be excruciating with adverse effects on the patient’s body due to hair loss and constant vomiting. The RN made it clear that if the patient opted for treatment, he would have to be intubated. Secondly, the patient’s diagnosis was that he had chronic cancer, and despite the treatment, his chances of remission were quite slim.

The patient’s family did not agree with his decision to be exempted from life support and chemotherapy. They believed that the patient should fight to extend his life in every way possible. The patient’s sister, in particular, was an ardent Christian who believes in the sanctity of life, and hence thought and insisted that her brother was making a grievous mistake in not accepting every form of assistance to lengthen his life (ANA, 2001). The family sought to overturn the patient’s verbal wishes by invoking their rights over his life when he lost his ability to address himself due to his illness.

The hospice’s policy was strict on following the patient’s wishes, especially if the patient was of legal age to understand the implications of his choice. Hence the family’s objection to the patient’s requests could not be honored.

The RN’s actions are further bound by the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses. In this situation, the nurse is expected to respect the patient’s decision and defend their rights. Secondly, the nurse is obligated to treat and respond to the patient’s wishes with compassion and respect (ANA, 2001). Lastly, the RN nurse is responsible and accountable for making decisions and taking actions that correspond with the patient’s requests about his healthcare.

The primary assumption in the prognosis and diagnosis of the patient’s condition is that there is no chance of remission for the patient’s cancer condition (Serna & Seoane, 2016). The doctor’s prognosis is based on previous experience with other chronic cancer patients.

The ethical facts that needed clarification before implementing the patient’s request are if the choice made will be in the best interest of the patient (Forte, Kawai & Cohen, 2018). Secondly, will the implementation of his no-life- support request cause harm to the patient. Lastly, does the execution of the patient’s request to preserve the wholeness and character of the patient while allowing continual personal growth? Upon assessment, the health care providers and facility concluded that the patient’s requests were to be respected, despite them being verbally proclaimed. This is because it would respect his autonomy and human dignity in making his decision. Secondly, implementing his decision would be in his best interests (Carvalho et al., 2018). Thirdly, it was decided that since the diagnosis is given was fatal, the patient’s determination to live in comfort till death was recommended despite the family’s objection (Zahedi et al., 2013). Lastly, implementing his wishes would spare his family the emotional and financial costs of having to sustain their…