Exploring Ethical Frameworks: Milibak Case Study & Healthcare

This case study delves into the ethical dilemmas surrounding the care of Mr. Ivan Milibak, an 83-year-old resident at Sunshine and Happiness private Nursing Home. The analysis highlights several ethical principles, including veracity and justice, questioning the management's truthfulness regarding Milibak's death and the ethical responsibilities of healthcare workers. The study explores various ethical theories, such as casuist, virtue, and rights ethics, to provide a comprehensive understanding of the situation. It examines how different approaches could have influenced the decisions made by healthcare professionals, particularly the nurse on duty. Ultimately, the case underscores the importance of ethical considerations in healthcare and the need for transparency and respect for patient rights. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering a wide array of study tools and solved assignments for students.

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ETHICAL ISSUES IN HEALTHCARE
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Q1 Healthcare services are typically accompanied by some ethical principles and the related
ethical dilemmas. In the case of Milibak as many moral principles involved. Veracity is a
principle dealing with truthfulness and non deceptive. The management was not ready to tell the
family the real cause of Milibak's death which raises the ethical question. Though it is good to
reveal the truth the close family members, it is not possible to know their reactions and the
consequence this may have to all the parties involved (Parahoo, 2014). Milibak was not handled
in a just manner. It was not justice for him to stay without any medication for days. This issue
brings about the question of ethical responsibilities of the healthcare workers in the institution. It
is unethical for the management to cover up the moral mistakes by the workers because it is not
clear if they can address the other issues affecting the delivery of the healthcare services
( Morton, Fontaine, Hudak, and Gallo, 2017)
Q4. Different ethical theories would have been used in Milbank's case. The first theory is casuist.
It considers several parties that can predict the future and offer a solution. It makes assumptions
about the past as either good or bad. The premise is based on the outcome. The theory also
assumes that the end result in every case follows the foreseen pattern. It fails to independently
reflect on all the variables. The approach compares related situations and their outcomes as it
seeks to resolve any ethical problem. The nurse could have consulted the other health workers
for a possible first aid before the arrival of the ambulance. Based on the experience of the nurse
in medical professional he should have considered what was done in the past such cases in order
to make an informed decision. ( Masters, 2015)
Virtue is a theory that allows margin of an error in the process of coming up with a solution. The
approach does not carefully analyze the possible final results before embarking on a particular
task. Though the theory is very essential in coming up with the solution for urgent matters, it

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fails to account for any deception, the intentions or the motives of an individual as well as the
changes in character. It would be appropriate for the nurse to be quick in trying to get the
condition in control as fast as possible. The nurse could have considered giving some medication
to control the situation before the arrival of the ambulance services. (Goldman, 2015)
The theory of rights ethics would also be constructive in Milbank's case. The theory advocates
for all people to be treated equally and all their rights respected. The rights of the individuals are
determined by the people who are in senior positions or the significant populations. The
individual's rights are subject to how they are interpreted because in most cases they are not
clearly outlined. It is the ethical related decisions that uphold the rights of the people. The nurse
should have considered letting the family know the real cause of Milibak’s death because it is
their right to know.

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References
Goldman, A.I., 2015. Theory of human action. Princeton University Press.
Masters, K., 2015. Role development in professional nursing practice. Jones & Bartlett
Publishers.
Morton, P.G., Fontaine, D., Hudak, C.M., and Gallo, B.M., 2017. Critical care nursing: a
holistic approach (p. 1056). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Parahoo, K., 2014. Nursing research: principles, process, and issues. Palgrave Macmillan.