Ethical Dilemmas In Health Care

Admitted to the ICU is a 96-year-old male with terminal liver cancer. He is suffering from confusion and disorientation, he appears to be underfed and is skinny. He also has multiple bruises which are generally common with liver disorders. His daughter, who is a naturopathic physician, believes that she can cure him by giving him unknown substances, some of which smell like feces and look like tar, down his nasogastric tube. He appears to be in pain after she administers these substances. She insists that what she is giving him are life-saving treatments, but the healthcare team caring for the patient are concerned that she is speeding up his death. The purpose of this paper is to do an ethical review of the mentioned scenario.
An ethical …show more content…
As a healthcare worker, beneficence requires that the medical team maintains their skills and knowledge. They will also need to be certain that they take into consideration the individual situation of their patient while working towards the maximum benefit of their care. When the patient is displaying pain with the treatments that the daughter is providing, the medical team is uncomfortable because they see what is happening and they believe that this is what is causing his pain and discomfort (Stanford University, …show more content…
Although you may not agree with their beliefs, respect helps to develop a rapport which is necessary in cultivating a trusting and working relationship. This scenario showed that the daughter believed that she could heal her father but in fact it appeared that she was harming him. If the treatment team would have sat down and discussed their concerns with her and allowed her to do the same, a better way to care for the patient may have been reached. If discussion was ineffective, offering the daughter other options such as home care so that she could incorporate some of her wishes into his care by doing this, the daughter would be able to choose who comes into the home thereby having people with similar beliefs as

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