Ethical Dilemma Faced By A Registered Nurse On The Medical...

Ethical Dilemma Paper This paper will describe an ethical dilemma faced by a registered nurse on the medical/surgical unit at Baptist Nassau. This dilemma will be analyzed using Catalano’s ethical decision-making model (2009) for nurses. Throughout this paper the pros and cons of this dilemma will be discussed, as well as answer the question â€Å"Is it morally and ethically just†? The ethical dilemma encountered by the nurse involved a 69 year-old female patient. This patient had cancer that had metastasized to the bones and brain with a diagnosis of approximately one week to live. This patient was alert and oriented times four but very weak and lethargic. The patient was having difficulty swallowing pills, fluids and food. Therefore her intake was very little. She had no advance directives but was of sound mind and could make her own decisions. The patient’s pain level was 10/10 on a pain scale of 0-10 with 10 being the worst pain. â€Å"Even before end of life, nearly half of patients with cancer report moderate to severe pain; up to 30% report the pain as severe; and an estimated 25% will die in pain (End-of Life Care, 2015)†. The patient’s family did not want the patient to take her pain medication during the day because it would sedate the patient. They wanted to spend every waking moment with their loved one. â€Å"Often fa mily members of the dying patient cannot make end-of-life decisions or have conflicting desires about the care that should be provided (Blais