Nursing ethics principles and applications

Nursing Ethics

The thought of death creates fear in many people. Years ago a study was conducted in which men in the trenches of World War I were offered free life insurance and all one had to do was sign a paper. Most of the solders declined the coverage because it would mean facing the fact that they were at a real risk of dying in that trench. People are afraid of dying and they are afraid to discuss the inevitable fact that they will die. One of the fears that people have about dying, is that they will die alone. It is important to understand this fear so that nurses can assist patients and their families accept death and provide comfort so that the patient does not die alone when the time comes.

Technology has assisted in the fear of dying alone because of its ability to maintain what appears to be life for very long periods of time. Machines are now able to maintain breathing, heart rate and other functions that at one time would have ceased to function and death would follow shortly thereafter (Life Support (http://www.canada.com/topics/lifestyle/fitness/story.html?id=5b0c3099-be0e-4119-81ae-02caba26ffa6&k=75397).Today however, the machines being used for life support can create days, weeks, or months of "life" while the family tries to choose exactly when the moment of death will occur so they can be there. In the past a person who was dying had the family gather around for a day or two to say goodbye and then they died. With the advances in technology creating such a delay in the inevitable families are forced to go back to their homes and jobs to wait for the call that their loved one has died.

Nurses can assist in minimizing the affects that technology has on the dying process in several ways (Do the poor deserve life support? - By Steven E. Landsburg - Slate (www.slate.com/id/2133518/?nav=navoa).The first thing they should do is learn to recognize the signs that death is near and not hesitate to call a family member when those signs become evident. The death rattle" is a common sign that the respiratory system is shutting down and can last for hours to days before death occurs. Nurses can help family members by educating them on the dying process and the various signs to look for so they can plan their hospital time accordingly (Life Support http://www.deathreference.com/Ke-Ma/Life-Support-System.html).

It is important for nurses to recognize individual beliefs and traditions when it comes to the dying process and respect those in the families they work with. If a family believes a dying family member should have oil placed gently on the forehead the nurse can help the family accept the pending death of their loved one by allowing anything non-intrusive to be done. Whether the nurse agrees with the belief or not is not important, what is important is that the nurse respects the wishes of the family as much as possible while still providing required medical care.