Ethical Theory Of Autonomy In Nursing

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The ethical theory I am choosing for my final paper is autonomy. Autonomy is defined as “personal self-determination; the patients’ right to participate in and decide on questions involving their care.” It is a form of personal liberty. Within the realm of health care, autonomy is based on three elements: the ability to decide, the power to act on the decisions, and the respect for the autonomy of other individuals. Individuals are free to use their autonomy and make decisions based on informed consent. Trials number two and three address patient autonomy. Trial number two involves her rights to decide her own fate, even against her parents’ judgments. The third trial involves the rights of a parent to care for her child in the manner that …show more content…

Once a person has freely made his choice, health care providers are required to respect the patient’s decision as part of the patient’s autonomy. A patient’s family might demand doctors to keep a patient alive living off of either machines or pain medication, even after doctors established such methods would not be effective anymore. Even though, the patient’s family knows that the treatment is no longer achievable, they may still expect doctors to do everything under the patient’s autonomy. However, the true reason is that the family is not ready to let go of a loved one. Therefore, they are willing to put the patient through pointless pain and suffering at the end of his or her life. In such cases, it would be easy for a doctor to obey the family’s request, but it would not be the right thing to do for the patient. Doctors must educate and instruct patients and their families about patient autonomy, and the principle of “do no harm” in …show more content…

A pregnant woman and her fetus should be understood of as a unit, and any other involvements during pregnancy should benefit both mother and child. Hospitals and doctors, who are taking care of a drug-exposed baby, must clearly understand all of the legal and ethical issues involved. After birth, intervention strategies should continue to be intended to benefit both the mother and the child. There should be a strong assumption in continuing the mother-child relationship, and the right of the mother as a decision-maker for the child, unless the mother is not acting in the best interest of the child. Reporting maternal illegal substance delivery to a baby to the authorities has serious effects on the mother and their children. It could remove the children from their mother's care and put them in protective custody or in foster care. To achieve the best possible care and positive outcome for the infant, babies should not be separated from their

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