Australian Multi-Jurisdictional Dataset

Running head: PALLIATIVE CARE 1
Name of student:
Registration number:
Unit Title:
Unit Code;
Assignment Title: Palliative Care
Name of supervisor:

PALLIATIVE CARE 2
Date due:
Introduction
End of life care is the support offered to people who are living their last months
or years on earth. It is aimed to help a person to live as comfortably and free of pain
as possible and to ensure that a person dies with dignity. The wishes, ethical, and
cultural beliefs of the person should be followed when providing end of life care.
According to Kelley et al. (2018), end of life care requires a multidisciplinary team
which should collaborate to ensure that the patient is as comfortable as possible. Some
of the ethical issues that arise in palliative care include autonomy, beneficence, self-
determination, and non-maleficence (Woods et al., 2018). This document examines
the ethical issues to be considered when caring for John and also a personal reflection
discussing how to deliver the best nursing care for John.

PALLIATIVE CARE 3
One of the ethical issues under consideration when caring for John is his
autonomy. John has the right to decide how he wants his life to end (Laverty,
McDermott & Calma, 2017). He has decided that he wants to spend the last days of
his life at home rather than undergoing dialysis at the hospital 500km away. Self-
determination as an ethical issue is also witnessed when the medical team informs
John of his current health status and that he is not expected to survive more than three
months while on dialysis. The doctors allow him to decide for himself, and that`s
when he decided he wants to die at home despite being informed that this will reduce
his life expectancy.
The multidisciplinary team is critical in caring for Mr. John, who is suffering
from end-stage renal disease(ESRD). Some of the team members included in the
interdisciplinary team include nephrologists, pharmacists, occupational therapists,
nurse practitioners, psychologists, and community palliative care (Schill &
Caxaj,2019).
The multidisciplinary team is essential in supporting patients and the person
offering care to help prepare appropriately for the care of Mr. John. The team also
informs patients and the family and the need to discuss the patients' condition further
with more health professionals. The other functions of the team include offering
information to the patient and the person caring for them, coordination of treatment
efforts, providing medication, and nutritional support (Shahid et al., 2018). A
psychiatrist is one particular team member who would play a crucial role in helping
John. Since John has decided that he wants to die at home, he must get psychological
help and counseling so that he can mentally cope with the impending death (Vincent,
Rice, Chan & Grassau, 2019).