Course)Professional Development II

Elva, a 370-lb, 62-year-old woman, is in a nursing home after complications of diabetes and several small strokes. Although she has been overweight all her life, she now is at a weight where it is unsafe to transfer her without a bariatric lift. Elva, however, refuses to be moved with it, claiming, "I'm not a piece of meat." She can be transferred to a chair with the assistance of four or five staff members. The administration, however, is worried that the staff could be injured physically while moving her. Her daughter insists that it is a violation of Elva's dignity and an unnecessary compromise of her autonomy to submit her to "the indignity of the mechanical lift." You are the supervisor of the unit. What ethical principles presented in this chapter can help you to assess what to do in this situation? What should you do?

A. The code of ethics include justice, beneficence, nonmaleficence, accountability and autonomy

B. I would try to educate the patient on how delicate or dangerous it is to move her without the help of a bariatric lift.

Step-by-step explanation

A.

• The woman is entitled to autonomy over what is done to her and how it is supposed to be done. she should be able to decide whether she is wants to be carried with a mechanical support or not. She expresses how she feels about the situation by saying " I am not a piece of meat". This shows that she fills violated by the act and should not be treated any different form other people because of her condition.
• The nurses handling the situation should be accountable for whatever action they take. In a scenario like this they might be tempted to approach an unorthodox approach in order to avoid more discussions and wastage of time. This methods might include making her feel like she has no other option or she doesn't have an option since they are the professionals. 
• Nonmaleficence means that whatever the nurses do they should not do anything to  harm their patient. They should consider all the options and let her agree on the right away to handle movement. Harming a person in the name of helping them is unethical and should be advised against entirely. No matter how small the harm is, it is considered a decision making exercise that should be made with both parties consent.  
• Beneficence to a human being means an act of showing mercy, kindness, generosity or being charitable towards someone. Nurses should be ready to show this qualities regardless of what their patient is suffering from. they should show kindness in any situation presented to them instead of being harsh and rude because someone doesn't understand the situation they are in.
•  The nurses should be just to all clients without being unfair to others. The clients should be able to trust the nurses to treat everyone equally and with fairness because it is regarded unethical to mistreat others because of their conditions.

B.  The patient is justified to refuse the type of service being offered. This might be because they don't understand their situation properly or just because they are ashamed or shy of themselves. Explaining to her that her condition is serious and need special care is the best approach to this situation. Helping her to see that her condition is nothing to be ashamed of will make her feel comfortable with the method of help. Getting her to understand that it is dangerous to move her without the help and might cause medical complications is the best decision. She will eventually realize the dangers she will pose to the nurses that will move her  and she will be able to consider consenting to the proposed method. I will listen to her opinion too to get to understand why she is so against being helped in that manner before starting to question her.