Nursing Ethics the Thought of Term Paper

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.

Machines and medications keeping life support viable does not mean the person is still alive. Nursing professionals often have to help family members come to the understanding that watching their family member's chest rise and fall is not about breathing but about the machine providing the appearance of breathing.My belief is if the person is unable to breath or have a heartbeat independent of technology and is unable to respond mentally to surroundings that person has already died and is no longer alive. I believe this because I place a value of life on the ability to either respond mentally or to maintain sympathetic nervous system actions independent of electronic assistance.

References

Do the poor deserve life support? - By Steven E. Landsburg - Slate (www.slate.com/id/2133518/?nav=navoa)

Life Support http://www.deathreference.com/Ke-Ma/Life-Support-System.html)

Life Support (http://www.canada.com/topics/lifestyle/fitness/story.html?id=5b0c3099-be0e-4119-81ae-02caba26ffa6&k=75397).....