Ethical Considerations in Healthcare: A Case Study of Mr. J

This case study delves into the ethical and legal complexities surrounding the treatment of Mr. J, a 56-year-old man with severe injuries and minimal awareness. The analysis focuses on issues such as patient autonomy, the involvement of family members in clinical decision-making, the moral responsibilities of nurses, and the application of ethical principles like beneficence and non-maleficence. The study highlights the conflict between the medical staff's decisions and the wife's preferences regarding Mr. J's pain management, raising concerns about respecting patient autonomy and providing appropriate care. It also touches upon the legal implications of the hospital's actions and the ethical considerations of assisted death, ultimately emphasizing the need for patient-centered care and adherence to ethical guidelines in healthcare settings. Desklib provides access to similar case studies and solved assignments for students.

Running head: ETHICAL ISSUES IN MR. J’S CASE STUDY 1
Ethical Issues in Mr. J’s Case Study
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

ETHICAL ISSUES IN MR. J’S CASE STUDY 2
1. Autonomy of Mr. J
Autonomy is an ethical principle that requires the respect of an individual's opinion on all
matters concerning them (Parahoo, 2014). The hospital disregards the independence of Mr. J.
The hospital should not overmedicate him. There are two treatment options available, the
narcotic and non-narcotic treatment. The physicians should allow the wife to choose one of the
two. However, the doctors are overmedicating him contrary to his wish.
2. Involving family members in clinical decision making
It is challenging to include family members in decision making in Mr. J's situation. The
brother visits but feels that Mr. J is destined to die. The children do not visit regularly leaving the
wife to be the only consistent visitor. Therefore, bringing the relatives together in a roundtable to
make critical decisions is a challenge. The doctors can only involve the wife who complains
about how the health facility is treating the husband. The hospital doctors should listen to the
wife's views on the kind of care towards the husband. Additionally, the hospital should employ
patient-centered care and evidence-based practice in their treatment administration (Parahoo,
2014).
3. Legal issues in the ethical decision making in the case study.
The hospital is legally wrong on imposing the non-narcotic treatment on Mr. J. The wife is
against it, and Mr. J groans because of the treatment method. The wife can sue the health facility
for not respecting the autonomy of Mr. J. The brother is legally wrong in legally wrong for
thinking that the brother should die in peace. Every US citizen has the right to proper healthcare.
Assisted death is illegal in the USA (Cowen, & Moorhead, 2014).
4. The moral responsibility of the nurses in the case

ETHICAL ISSUES IN MR. J’S CASE STUDY 3
The nurses should allow Mr. J’s wife to choose the kind of treatment that the husband
wants. The nurses should listen to the complaints of Mr. J’s wife and act accordingly to her
claims. Moreover, the nurses have the moral responsibility to provide high-quality healthcare to
the client (Oliver, Wilson, & Malpas, 2017).
5. Ethical principles in the Case study
Autonomy refers to the respect of an individual's opinion (Puurveen, Phinney, Cox, &
Purvest, 2015). The nurses do not respect Mr. J's wife choice of treatment. The wife prefers the
narcotic pain management treatment, but the doctors expose him to non-narcotic care. The
doctors fail to honor the autonomy of the Mr. J's wife. She complains about her husband's care,
but no one is addressing her concerns.
Non-maleficence is the principle of no-harm to the patient (Puurveen et al., 2015). The
doctors disregard the policy of non-maleficence as the overmedication harms Mr. J. Non-narcotic
treatment also makes him restless.
6. Other legal, ethical issues
Another principle disregarded is that of beneficence. The policy requires that medics
only do well to the patients (Puurveen et al., 2015). Overmedicating the patient harms him.

ETHICAL ISSUES IN MR. J’S CASE STUDY 4
References
Cowen, P. S., & Moorhead, S. (2014). Current Issues In Nursing-E-Book. Elsevier Health
Sciences.
Oliver, P., Wilson, M., & Malpas, P. (2017). New Zealand doctors’ and nurses’ views on
legalising assisted dying in New Zealand. The New Zealand medical journal, 130(1456),
10.
Parahoo, K. (2014). Nursing research: principles, process, and issues. Palgrave Macmillan.
Puurveen, G., Phinney, A., Cox, S., & Purvest, B. (2015). Ethical issues in the use of video
observations with people with advanced dementia and their caregivers in nursing home
environments. Visual Methodologies, 3(2), 16-26.