It is a common occurrence that patients diagnosed with terminal stages of particular medical conditions do not express their wishes to their attending physicians as to the manner that they want to be cared for. Most patients who find themselves at end-stage conditions are those suffering from acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or cancer. Clinical trial reports have shown that there is a strong positive correlation between the quality of care that is delivered to a patient and the extent of communication that occurs between the physician and his patient (Curtis et al., 2000).
One of the routes for end-of-life care is that of the issuance of an advance directive, which involves the choices of the patient himself as to which procedures can and cannot be implemented in case he has lost consciousness during his stay in the hospital (Van den Block et al. , 2009). However, approximately half of terminal patients do not discuss or express their wishes as to how their end-of-life care should be performed. The issue becomes more complicated when the decisions are left to the members of the immediate family, as well as the attending physician.
The reasons behind the lack or absence of expression as to how they want to be taken care during their last days still remain unclear. This research paper will discuss an ethical issue that has plagued the healthcare profession for several decades and will provide viewpoints from the field of the nursing profession with regards to palliative care of a patient. DEFINING AND RE-DEFINING EUTHANASIA Euthanasia pertains to the Greek-derived word that literally means good death.
The procedure involving euthanasia is now recognized in all parts of the world yet each country has established its own rules regarding the legality and ethical issues associated with this concept. Psychoanalysts often regard the term of euthanasia as a misnomer because there is no such thing as a good death because it this transformation from being alive to being dead can never be achieved unless an individual experiences a serious medical condition that drives the body to expire.
It is saddening to see that there are certain countries that actively implement euthanasia to patients and no corresponding penalty is imposed on the person conducting the procedure. The Netherlands is one of the countries that are actively conducting and accepting euthanasia as part of their healthcare services (Crawford and Way, 2009). Euthanasia is regarded as a controversial topic in healthcare because it involves several issues that are of public concern.
Firstly, euthanasia is associated with medical issues, because this procedure is often conducted during the terminal stages of a patient positively diagnosed with a chronic disease such as AIDS or cancer. Euthanasia also involves legal issues because its implementation should be properly proven by directives that were earlier issued by the patient. Majority of hospital cases do not have any directives at hand and thus the decisions with regards to the manner of care and treatment that the patient receives during his last days are mainly based on the members of the patient’s immediate family (Parpa et al., 2008).
Euthanasia also entails a review of cultural settings where the patient is located. There are certain countries where particular activities such as euthanasia are acceptable and this is mainly influenced by the values of the society at large. Religious beliefs are also connected to the issue of euthanasia because patients may come from different streams of belief and thus it is important for the healthcare professionals to know their religious background before conducting any medical treatment or procedure.
Euthanasia was earlier defined as a procedure conducted on a patient that is intended to hasten his death. The procedure is performed in order to prevent the patient from further suffering from the pain that is associated with his medical condition. This definition may be quite vague and thus it is essential that the current methods of conducting euthanasia be defined based on the nature or manner of administration. Voluntary euthanasia pertains to a condition when a patient requests the administration of a medical procedure that will induce his death in order for him to suffer no more.
It is often observed that patients request for procedures that would take them away from the current condition of pain. Extreme conditions would even involve patients wishing that they were instead dead than having to experience such conditions of pain. It should be understood that in most medical conditions, pain is a common sign yet there may be times when the degree of pain is so unbearable that it drives a patient to desperately find and ask a way to end of this suffering (Fenigsen, 2008).