Question

Ethics and the Nursing Care of Elders is it something that you really agree or disagree with Detail response with examples & cited references?

Things to Consider:

1- Ageism

2-factors that influence elders’ experiences of living meaningful lives.

3-the principle of autonomy as it relates to the ethical care of elders

4-the signs of elder abuse and appropriate nursing interventions.

5-Discriminate among different levels of moral agency.

Answer 1

#. Aging in America

-Americans living longer

Questions about quality of life

-Chronic debilitating conditions

-Ageism

-Limited support and resources

#.Definitions of elderly

-Young-old: between 60-75

-Old-old: older than 75

Invisibility to the old

#. Life meaning and Significance

•Important ethical issues for elders

-Autonomy

-Vulnerability

-Dependency

-Good relationships

-Significance and meaning

•Traditional societal purposes diminished

•Value on features of old age, not age itself

•Suffering alleviated through meaning

#. The Search for Meaning

•Primary human motivation

•Actualizing experiences of suffering, dying

•Nurses' help in discovering meaning

#. Updating the Eriksonian Life Cycle

•Addition of ninth stage of life cycle

-Focuses on the old-old

-Extension of the eighth stage

#. •Difficulties encountered in ninth stage

-Impaired senses

-Despair

-Suffering due to losses

# •Characteristics of gerotrancendent individuals

-Having a universal spirit/connection

-Perceiving time as now or very near future

-Accepting capabilities

-Viewing death as a sustaining presence

-Having an expanded sense of self

#. Moral Agency

•Making deliberate choices affecting well-being of sentient beings

•Taking responsibility for beliefs and actions

#. Decisional Capacity

•Ability to make reasonable conclusions and resolutions

•Often related to competence

•Assessments

-Beauchamp and Childress (2013) standards

•Cautions

-False assumptions based on ageism

#. Autonomy and Paternalism

•Vulnerability to autonomy violations

•Decisional capacity despite confusion

•Consistency of wishes and desires

•Follow humanistic focus on well-being.

•Include family caregivers in decision making.

•Evaluate influence of ageism.

#. Vulnerability and Dependance

•Everyone is subject to vulnerability and dependence.

•Remain open to hearing patients' life stories.

#. Dementia

•Compares to loss of personhood

•Contributes to extreme vulnerability

•Can lead to family frustration and anxiety

•Requires gentle communication from nurses

#. Virtues Needed by Elders

•Courage

-When facing certainty of death

•Humility

-When bodily decay assaults dignity

•Patience

-When bearing frustrations of frailty

•Simplicity

-When experiencing joy in small pleasures

•Benignity

-When finding joy in serving others

•Integrity

-When remaining calm in face of loss

•Wisdom

-When considering past lessons

•Detachment and nonchalance

-When accepting realistic medical assessments

•Courtesy

-When dealing with jarring social events

•Hilarity

-When finding humor in life and oneself

#. Quality of Life

•Variations in judgments

-Differences among individuals

-Differences between healthcare professionals and patients

# •Assessment tools

-Personal evaluations

-Observer evaluations

# •Problems with determinations for elderly

-Age-based discrimination

-Perceptions of social worth

-Patient dementia

-Differences in life goals and values

-Projections of "reasonable" desires

# •Nursing considerations

-Assume different values and goals across age groups.

-Use moral imagination.

-Conduct values history with new patients.

-Emphasize holistic care.

#. Long-Term Care

•Relationships are focused on autonomy

•Unrealistic goals can cause frustration

•Ethic of dignity may replace autonomy

•Basic dignity

-Inherent in all humans

•Personal dignity

-Decided upon by communities, not solely tied to autonomy

•Justified paternalism

-Inversely proportional to autonomy present

#. Elder Abuse

•Understand various kinds of elder abuse.

•Be familiar with signs of elder abuse.

•Recognize signs of self-neglect.

#. Humanistic Nursing Care for Elders

•Help patients transcend or accept unavoidable suffering.

•Relate compassionately.

•Realize not all things can be fixed.

•Establish human-to-human relationships.