Value Of Dignity Essay

Dignity promotes value and respect for an individual’s esteem and is personalized because it correlates with cultural and societal norms; “Dignity is a fundamental human right. It is about feeling and/or being treated and regarded as important and valuable in relation to others. Dignity is a subjective, multi-dimensional concept, but also has shared meaning among humanity” (Clark, 2010, para. 16). This definition shows despite individualization, the meaning of dignity is shared with others in the way of socialization and cultural aspects (Clark, 2010). My health care directive (see Appendix) promotes me dying with dignity. I do not want extraordinary measures to be taken if it diminishes quality of life. Personally, I find it more dignifying to let me die of natural causes, because I would want

I do not value or see any value in living a life “chained” to a hospital bed, therefore, to conserve my dignity, I would want to receive palliative care, to not prolong suffering. I also value a life with minimal pain, so I would want pain management a top priority in hopes of increasing my level of independence to conserve my dignity. When my dignity is maintained, so is my self-esteem, resulting in a healthy mind allowing me to focus on what is in front of me, rather than disabling me, giving me a higher quality of life. However, when I die, I would like to be an organ donor, excluding skin and eyes, because I want to continue to help people in need, but hold on to dignity of my body after death. The possibility of organ donation brings me comfort and peace, however, being skinned like a deer or removing my eyes, does not bring me peace, nor does it sustain my dignity and self-worth. The other reason I do not want to donate my skin or eyes is because I want to be presented respectfully at my funeral. I believe in a balance of donating organs and remaining oneself after death, therefore I have decided to donate some of my organs to save lives, but