Definition of the problem
A female patient was suffering from a terminal ailment and she was admitted in the intensive care unit for specialized treatment (Zalon, Constantino & Andrews, 2008). She was experiencing unbearable pain before she decided to call for the nurse for assistance. She complained that she was experiencing too much pain and that it was too much to bear. According to her, she needed more pain alleviating medicine (Zalon, Constantino & Andrews, 2008). However, her physician had already directed that she should have a placebo alternating with mild pain medication. When the nurse took the matter to the physician, he declined her request and retorted that more pain alleviating medication would increase the chances of death for the patient. The nurse obliged and declined to administer pain alleviating medication to the patient after (Zalon, Constantino & Andrews, 2008).
The patient’s perception
The situation in this case study is calamitous. The patient is already under a desperate health condition but still the pain is very hurting. In this case, there is a problem that exists in the decision making process. The nurse cannot decide to do as she wishes because the physician has more authority (Price, Finniss, & Benedetti, 2008). The problem is did the nurse do the right thing to oblige or she should have explored more options to help the patient. According to the patient’s perception of the problem, she felt that the pain was too much for her since she was hurting. She thought it would have been wise to use the pain medication to avert her current pain and deal with the consequences later.
Patients personal life
The problem in this case is that the patient was a drug addict and she was not capable of handling pain. The patient is also very old to handle such pain considering she was also sick. Information about her past and present conditions should be put into consideration. In her condition, she does not have many other alternatives considering her physician’s medical analysis. She risked losing her life if more pain relieving medication was used (Price, Finniss, & Benedetti, 2008).
Analysis of factors to facilitate shared decision making
The patient in her pain was not competent enough or in the right state of mind to make sound assessment. In addition to that, her decision to get more medication for her pain was not informed from a medical point of view (Zalon, Constantino & Andrews, 2008). She was only minding her current condition without considering the effects thereafter. In this case, the ethical components of the decision making process are not very clear. One is not sure whether the patient’s pain was as severe as she was saying or she simply did not have the tolerance for pain. It is not clear in the case whether the family had clear and the relevant information about her condition.
The ethical issue and how to deal with it
The ethical issue in this case is seen when the nurse obeys the physicians directives. One can argue that the nurse should have done more to help the patient than just following orders from another person. The decision making process in the organization did not allow her to do that. However, she should have involved a higher authority in this issue since her immediate superior did not listen to her plea. The right and most prudent decision in this case was to involve other people in higher authority than the physician because he was not interested in listening to the nurses sensible remedies to help the patient.
References
Price D.D., Finniss D.G., & Benedetti, F. (2008). A comprehensive review of the placebo effect. Recent advances and current thought. Annu Rev Psychol. 59(1): 565-590. Web.
Zalon, M.L., Constantino, R.E., & Andrews, K.L. (2008). The Right to Pain Treatment: A Reminder for Nurses, 27(3): 93 – 101. Web.