Honoring Patients Wishes

Ethical Dilemma: Honoring Patient Wishes

Debbie Wenzel

December 12, 2012

Everyday Nurses faces ethical dilemma on honoring patient wishes. The aging process of the patients often involves a variety of health problems that come to quickly that can become a burdensome to patient families. Nursing care is often necessary, especially for patients who lose control of their mental and physically abilities. The most commonly diagnosed in the elderly patients is dementia and incontinence. When taking care of a dementia patient this often tests the caretaker patience and this alone is not enough to placed the patient in a nursing home and sometimes family members will exaggerate their love ones health problems in order to be placed in a nursing home, because family members are frustrated and incapable of dealing health condition of their love one. Family member’s evens tries to justify the need for wrongful placement of their loved one in a nursing home, ethical dilemma may arise for the elderly, family members and the nursing team. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the ethical dilemmas on honoring the patient’s wishes, the wishes of the family members and the legal application of placing the patients with incontinence and dementia in a nursing home.

Incontinence is a serious problem among the elderly living at home because it leads to restricted activities of their daily living and it also increases care from their family. When incontinences occur in the elderly independence follows and this leads family members frustrated and even being combative toward a caretaker. The elderly loss of independent, they tried to maintain a sense of dignity. In spite of being incontinent, the elderly will tried to use the bathroom and leaves a mess for the family to clean up. The family in this situation become desperate for a solution, and so determines to have their loved one to be admitted in the hospital. When an elderly is admit in the hospital, the elderly...