Author / Monica Delles
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The Case of Freda: Nursing Staff in Moral Distress When Patient’s Wishes Not Followed
Freda is a thirty-two-year-old woman in an advanced fixed stage of multiple sclerosis. Freda’s inability to swallow has caused her to lose weight to the point that she is clinically malnourished. Freda’s mother insists on insertion of a gastric feeding tube, which puts the nursing staff in a high state of moral distress.
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The Case of Claire Conroy
Must Patients Always Be Given Food and Water? An eighty-four-year-old non-ambulatory nursing home patient was confined to semi-fetal condition with “severe organic brain syndrome.” She had necrotic gangrenous leg ulcers and no bowel control. The patient was not in a vegetative state; her life expectancy could not be predicted but it was thought to…
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The Case of a 20-Month-Old Boy
A 20-month-old Puerto Rican boy was admitted to the inpatient unit for failure to thrive associated with a decrease in appetite. The mother suspects it is empacho. Assumptions are important in ethical analysis. If you do not believe there is such an illness as empacho, how do you relate to the parents of this child?
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Case Study – Tatiana Tarasoff: A Duty to Warn
When a therapist predicts that his patient is a danger to another person, does he have a duty to warn that person of the danger
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Case Study – Our Pregnant Daughter Didn’t Want This.
Is a healthcare directive legally in effect if the patient is pregnant?
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Case Study – Family Opposition to Organ Donation Despite First Person Consent
JD has not regained consciousness and is apt to remain permanently in a vegetative state. A decision is made to withdraw life support. Is organ donation a possibility?
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Case Study: One Small Cut that Killed
The family wants answers, and so far, all they know is that he came in with one small cut and suddenly died.
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The Case of Omer: Who Should Talk to the Family and What Should They Say?
How should an adverse event from a surgery be handled?
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Case Study – My Patient’s Dying
I had never seen it before. I had no experience on which to base my unsettling suspicions. Who is responsible for ensuring that Ms. P’s dying wishes are fulfilled to the degree possible?
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Case Study – Mr. Jay’s Case
Mr. Jay told his doctor he would prefer that resuscitation not even be attempted. Will paramedics know about Mr. Jay’s preference?
