Nursing care must be guided by the ANA’s Code of Ethics to determine best possible outcomes for Ting and resolve ethical dilemmas. Provision 2 of the Code of Ethics states, “The nurse’s primary commitment is to the patient, whether an individual, family, group, or community” (ANA, 2001, p. 9). For Ting, this means her needs must be the priority focus, but because she is Chinese and the family’s beliefs are based on Confucianism, these values and beliefs should also be incorporated into the care plan.
Provision 3 states, “The nurse promotes, advocates for, and strives to protect the health, safety (sic) and rights of the patient” (ANA, 2001, p.12). The nurse must be the voice for nonverbal Ting, holistically maximize Ting’s quality of life by …show more content…
Decisions and respect are afforded to the father within the family structure, but in health care situations decisions are left to physicians. Chinese people view physicians as knowing more, thus they respect and trust the physician knows best for their loved one. In Ting’s case, adequate communication was not always received or clarified. For instance, communication was often relayed to the mother via the translator, because the father was often at work when information was provided. Chinese mothers cannot make decisions, the father was not present, and the overwhelming emotions parents experience with a terminal child can blur communication received. Similarly, the healthcare team misunderstood the Chinese parent’s lack of questions, emotions, or discussion as uncaring. Cultural norms in Chinese society dictates a detached unemotional decorum that is respectful and unquestioning (Turner, …show more content…
The mother was instructed in gastrostomy care and how to conduct feedings, but she was not told to not feed her daughter by mouth. Unfortunately, the gastrostomy tube was implanted because of Ting’s chronic aspirations that usually resulted in pneumonia. Upon such a hospitalization, the healthcare team viewed the mother’s acts of feeding her daughter food as non-compliant, when in fact the mother was following a Chinese custom of insuring her daughter would not die on an empty stomach (Turner, 2010). This example shows how culturally congruent care could have avoided this hospitalization by explaining the tube feedings were filling Ting’s stomach and providing nutrients as if she had eaten them by mouth. Missed communication opportunities to forge a trusting relationship caused both healthcare members and parents to believe an ethical dilemma existed, when in fact there was not
Provision 3 states, “The nurse promotes, advocates for, and strives to protect the health, safety (sic) and rights of the patient” (ANA, 2001, p.12). The nurse must be the voice for nonverbal Ting, holistically maximize Ting’s quality of life by …show more content…
Decisions and respect are afforded to the father within the family structure, but in health care situations decisions are left to physicians. Chinese people view physicians as knowing more, thus they respect and trust the physician knows best for their loved one. In Ting’s case, adequate communication was not always received or clarified. For instance, communication was often relayed to the mother via the translator, because the father was often at work when information was provided. Chinese mothers cannot make decisions, the father was not present, and the overwhelming emotions parents experience with a terminal child can blur communication received. Similarly, the healthcare team misunderstood the Chinese parent’s lack of questions, emotions, or discussion as uncaring. Cultural norms in Chinese society dictates a detached unemotional decorum that is respectful and unquestioning (Turner, …show more content…
The mother was instructed in gastrostomy care and how to conduct feedings, but she was not told to not feed her daughter by mouth. Unfortunately, the gastrostomy tube was implanted because of Ting’s chronic aspirations that usually resulted in pneumonia. Upon such a hospitalization, the healthcare team viewed the mother’s acts of feeding her daughter food as non-compliant, when in fact the mother was following a Chinese custom of insuring her daughter would not die on an empty stomach (Turner, 2010). This example shows how culturally congruent care could have avoided this hospitalization by explaining the tube feedings were filling Ting’s stomach and providing nutrients as if she had eaten them by mouth. Missed communication opportunities to forge a trusting relationship caused both healthcare members and parents to believe an ethical dilemma existed, when in fact there was not