Patient Autonomy and Medical Paternity: can nurses help doctors to listen to patients?

Nurses are increasingly faced with situations in practice regarding the prolongation of life and withdrawal of treatment. They play a central role in the care of dying people, yet they may find themselves disempowered by medical paternalism or ill-equipped in the decision-making process in end-of-li...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Breier-Mackie, Sarah (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage 2001
In: Nursing ethics
Year: 2001, Volume: 8, Issue: 6, Pages: 510-521
Further subjects:B Medical Futility
B Paternity
B Autonomy
B end-of-life care
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Nurses are increasingly faced with situations in practice regarding the prolongation of life and withdrawal of treatment. They play a central role in the care of dying people, yet they may find themselves disempowered by medical paternalism or ill-equipped in the decision-making process in end-of-life situations. This article is concerned with the ethical relationships between patient autonomy and medical paternalism in end-of-life care for an advanced cancer patient. The nurse’s role as the patient’s advocate is explored, as are the differences between nursing and medicine when confronted with the notion of patient autonomy. The impetus for this discussion stems from a clinical encounter described in the following scenario.
ISSN:1477-0989
Contains:Enthalten in: Nursing ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/096973300100800605