Medical ethics

Numerous studies have shown that critically ill psychiatric patient 's lifespan is significantly impacted by amendable medical comorbidities (Pope, 2011; Nankivell et al., 2013). Moreover, it has been predicted that their lifespan may be reduced by 25 years in comparison to the general population (Pope, 2011, Nankivell et al., 2013). Besides, other research reveals that health care providers ' negative attitude can considerably affect these patients ' treatment outcome as well as their overall…

However, clinical interventions will also entail the use of various measures to ensure the quality of the medications in order to prevent the provision of poor quality medicines to mental health patients. The second delivery mode of health services in this program is psychosocial interventions, which entail the use of various support groups. Some of the support groups that will be incorporated in the program include self-help groups and family-support groups. The use of psychosocial…

Euthanasia The term “Euthanasia” comes from the Greek word “εὐθανασία”, meaning “good death.” According to Priests for life, euthanasia means to remove someone of their suffering by death. Euthanasia has two parts, voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary euthanasia is when the patient wants to end their own life. Involuntary euthanasia is when someone else kills the patient even though they want to live. Within those two parts there are two exact ways that a patient dies. The first is active…

The United States is currently in a rut of anti-progressivism. In few areas is this reality more evident than in the popular objection to physician-assisted suicide. Physician assisted suicide, for the sake of argument, is the opportunity given to an individual suffering from terminal illness to end his own life quickly and painlessly by means of prescribed drugs. The practice provides relief for those under immense pain and suffering, but is a sensitive issue to argue in favor of, particularly…

The Right-To-Die Controversy is a very tough one. It’s hard to know who gets say in whether a person lives or dies if their wishes were not clear. Usually people will have a power of attorney, a person that decides everything when the ill person can no longer speak or decide for themselves. Even then, it is still a hard decision to make. Choosing to end a loved ones life is never an easy task. Euthanasia is “the practice of ending the life of a person suffering from an incurable…

A conscientious objection is where a health care provider can refuse to perform certain types of medical care that they do not personally agree with (Bradley, 2). Should it be legal to refuse performing an abortion? Unfortunately, regardless of the countries health regulations many doctors still refuse to perform an abortion due to their conscientious objection, therefore leaving many women without the proper care and help that they require. Although abortions are known to have both short and…

Assisted suicide is the administration of a lethal substance with direct or indirect assistance of a physician to voluntarily terminate one’s life (MedicineNet). In the movie, The Sea Inside, Ramon Sampedro actively petitioned the Spanish courts to legally commit assisted suicide after becoming paralyzed from the neck down 28 years ago. While assisted suicide is legal in many places, in the United States only four states, Washington, California, Oregon and Vermont, have passed legislation that…

The Mental Health Act’s (1992) being and purpose is in place as a consequence of New Zealands long history. The Act’s role of compulsory care and restoration of the patient’s rights are significant changes from the previous stigma around mental health. These changes can be summarised as humanitarian concerns and emphasizing human rights. Dating back to the 19th century New Zealand’s ideas and systems surrounding mental health have always been primarily influenced by Europe. In these early years,…

know thy self. This helps them to come to terms with their own spirituality and prevent its infringement on client care. According to the Minnesota Board of Nursing a client has the right to choose “care and treatment by spiritual means in lieu of medical care” (Minessota Nursing Boards, n.d). in such scenario a nurse responsibility is not to persuade the patient to conform to the nurse’s belief but to be supportive and respectful of the client’s wishes as long as it does not lead to…

The article in the New York Times titled, On Assisted Suicide, Going Beyond “Do No Harm”, by Haider Javed Warraich, explains how modern medication, along with medical equipment designed to keep patients alive have made it nearly impossible for patients to die, unless doctors or family members withdraw treatment. He further explains how doctor’s adherence to the Hippocratic oath “do no harm” is used to advocate for keeping patients alive. He suggests that doctors may be doing harm by not allowing…