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Nutritional Support From A Terminated Patient Dissertation Example

5 / 5. 1

Discipline:
Nursing
Chapter:
Introduction
Level:
PhD
Pages:
2
Words:
550
View Sample

Free Nutritional Support From A Terminated Patient Dissertation Example

Withholding Nutritional support from a terminally ill patient Name Institution Affiliation Withholding Nutritional support from a terminally ill patient The subject on whether terminally ill patients should receive nutritional support has been a dilemma for decades particularly among the physicians and Christians due to the moral and ethical considerations. Where else some presume that patients who cannot feed themselves should receive fluid and nutrition support, others have disregarded the artificial nutrition and hydration procedures by deeming them as extraordinary acts without reasonable hope of benefit. Nevertheless, terminally ill patients should receive nutritional support as we are ethically obliged to supplement them unless they decide to terminate the support willing and fully knowing the consequences of their decisions. Withdrawing the support from the patient is not only unethical but also ungodly and a violation of individual convictions on sustaining life. Nutrition support for terminally ill patients reduces the physical deterioration, prevents emotional starving of the patient, and improves the quality of life and should therefore not be withdrawn. Rather, it should be part of the extraordinary medical treatment offered to the patient to enable them to survive. A study by Preiser et al. (2015) suggests that continuous feeding of patients with head and neck cancer improved their quality of life, nutrient intake and fluid status. Orrevall (2014) also supports the fact that nutritional care improves the quality of life for cancer patients and they should therefore be served with food and drinks. It is thus not justifiable for a physician to withdraw the nutrition support as it would be equivalent to starving the patient to death. In such a case, the underlying illness would not be the proximate cause of the death but rather the cause would be starvation and dehydration. Although the process of supporting the patient may be burdensome,...
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