An Ethical Dilemma: Residential Aged Care

An Ethical Dilemma for Residential Aged Care

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Table of Contents

Introduction. 3

Discussion. 3

Conclusion. 5

Reference list 6

Introduction

Healthcare professionals find it very challenging to extend the hands of support and care to the aged people who often demands humanity and ethical dimensions. The situations are very often critical that affect the decision making. The issues that might disturb the work environment can be family involvement, a resident’s choices or experiences, staff members’ compliance with facility laws and policies. Care quality and efficiency should be balanced and other issues must be addressed that will increase improved access to care. An ethical dilemma is a situation where arises mental conflict among the moral laws. Choosing one policy might result in the violation of the other that will add to confusion and turmoil. The situation can be like that: a patient with deteriorated healthy condition is admitted to the hospital. Further, the paramedic attempts resuscitation on her against her will and later she dies unexpectedly. Then the family makes the incident an issue as the patient is unwilling since the beginning.

Discussion

The different stakeholders including the paramedics, the faculty, the healthcare professionals, the family get involved in the brawl that will generate legal and ethical issues. The dilemma is how the entire conflict would be resolved peacefully. Dealing with the dilemma becomes serious at times to pose some challenges before the healthcare professionals to encounter. The reputation gets reduced due to any unexpected situation that will also affect productivity. Healthcare professionals must be very cautious of all the requirements that regulate the principles of the workplace and the roles determining the situations (Flicker, Haans & Skinner, 2019). In order to deal with personal standards and universal principles, they must have a clear understanding of what ethics mean in the first place. Ethics denote a set of standards of behaviour and the power to perceive the difference between right and wrong. Good ethics instil values fellow-feeling, morality and humanity, compassion in the behaviour. The potential ethical issues must be identified first to understand the angle of the situation. Then, it becomes easy for the professionals to avoid the tussle and confusion thereafter. At the moment of extending care to a patient, the best decisions regarding right or wrong must be made by the professional (Ngozwana, 2018). If the patient’ choice is irrelevant, the professionals must be prudent to stick to the stringent ethical policy. Advance directives must be followed with care when the patient signs any of the documents about the car they prefer to take during treatment. Allowing the patient to make decisions on how much information is shared with the family is sometimes chosen by the worker. If the situation of disagreement occurs, professionals have to be positive and do the right thing that will be ethical responsibilities to follow. Prioritizing patients’ right to decide for them a perfect action is an ethical act. This usually tends to have both negative and positive consequences. To negotiate such complex situations, maintaining a clear and lucid conversation is the key. Sometimes, an ethical committee is set up to discuss the different issues, review different problems and work on the best possible solutions (Reid et al., 2018). Besides maintaining regulations for accurate billing, professionals might need other federal and state guidelines to adhere to. Most of the facilities have a compliance plan that will help the employee to meet the emerging crisis. In a divergent situation of multiple views, facilities and technologies, each professio­­­­­nal must perceive the role and responsibilities ascribed upon them. Abstaining from doing any harm to the patient, showing reverence to privacy and personal property can.

Figure 1: Dilemma in the aged care

Source: (Blackmore et al., 2020)

The serious problem a patient can face is lack of time due to lack of resources. Postponing dialysis as a life-prolonging treatment can be a major decision that can create ethical dilemmas. Ethical discussions are held that are often hidden to focus on end-of-life issues. A family member may not agree with the decision of the patient but ultimately, the ethical choice must be made and that is dependent on the health care professionals. Sometimes, the difference might be created out of heterogeneous cultural beliefs, background and religious rituals. All the facilities that require the ethical standard must end in termination or discipline of the employment (Alzghoul & Jones-Bonofiglio, 2020). Staff members must safeguard the facility property and they need to avoid involvement in the residents’ choices. Many facilities allow for good tips and gifts for reward as good care. This is completely unethical to show care when it is not needed at all. Adhering to a care plan means ensuring that each patient must receive the expected and fair amount of care from the professionals. Even though it might become quite tough to show care to the residents who are not flexible, being emotionally or physically abusive is strictly prohibited. Ethical standards constitute part of everything one does as a long-term caregiver. They maintain some knowledge regarding employee requirements and have to be updated regarding the constant changes in the policies. Any kind of unethical behaviour must be avoided by keeping in mind the care already been provided and the time it needed. Facility forms must be filled up completely after care is provided. Emotional support to all the residents is necessary by being an empathetic listener. Showing affection through gentle touch, paying attention to the details of the residents’ preferences is part of the ethical behaviour of the professionals.

Conclusion

Having a professional attitude and making the resident feel that they are part of the family is a responsible duty. It is a priority to look for any changes in the president’s behaviour. If any changes are made, this must immediately be reported to the supervisors. On the other hand, it is not acceptable to perform extra hours that are not in the schedule. Long-term care professional has to keep up the happiness quotient of the resident high all the time. Some of the ethical issues can engender stress at the workplace which might be avoided at first by prioritizing patients’ consent and autonomy. The staffing pattern and surrogate decision making are planned in a proper way to maintain the ethical standard and mitigate stress caused out of situations of powerlessness. If conscious measures are adopted carefully, the social dynamics should properly be cultivated.

References

Alzghoul, M. M., & Jones-Bonofiglio, K. (2020). Nurses’ tension-based ethical decision making in rural acute care settings. Nursing ethics, 27(4), 1032-1043. DOI: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0969733020956376

Blackmore, R., Boyle, J. A., Fazel, M., Ranasinha, S., Gray, K. M., Fitzgerald, G., … & Gibson-Helm, M. (2020). The prevalence of mental illness in refugees and asylum seekers: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS medicine, 17(9), e1003337. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003337

Flicker, S., Haans, D., & Skinner, H. (2019). Ethical dilemmas in research on Internet communities. Qualitative health research, 14(1), 124-134. Retrieved from: http://www.old.convergemidamerica.org/sites/midam/files/jobs/pdf-resolving-ethical-dilemmas-a-guide-for-clinicians-

Ngozwana, N. (2018). Ethical dilemmas in qualitative research methodology: Researcher’s reflections. International Journal of Educational Methodology, 4(1), 19-28. Retrieved from: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/488890

Reid, A. M., Brown, J. M., Smith, J. M., Cope, A. C., & Jamieson, S. (2018). Ethical dilemmas and reflexivity in qualitative research. Perspectives on medical education, 7(2), 69-75. DOI: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0969733019832941