Author Question: A male patient suffered a brain injury from a motor vehicle accident and has no brain activity. The ... (Read 124 times)

stock · **on:** Jul 22, 2018

A male patient suffered a brain injury from a motor vehicle accident and has no brain activity. The spouse has come up to see the patient every day for the past 2 months.

She asks the nurse, Do you think when he moves his hands he is responding to my voice? The nurse feels bad because she believes the movements are involuntary, and the prognosis is grim for this patient. She states, He can hear you, and it appears he did respond to your voice. The nurse is violating which principle of ethics?
a. Autonomy
b. Veracity
c. Utilitarianism
d. Deontology

Question 2

A patient suffered a brain injury from a motor vehicle accident and has no brain activity. The patient has a living will which states no heroic measures. The family requests that no additional heroic measures be instituted for their son.

The nurse respects this decision in keeping with which principle?
a. Accountability
b. Autonomy
c. Nonmaleficence
d. Veracity

joneynes · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 22, 2018

Answer to Question 1

ANS: B
Veracity is the principle of telling the truth in a given situation. Autonomy is the principle of respect for the individual person; this concept states that humans have incalculable worth or moral dignity. Utilitarianism is an approach that is rooted in the assumption that an action or practice is right if it leads to the greatest possible balance of good consequences or to the least possible balance of bad consequences. Giving the spouse false reassurance is not a good consequence. Deontologic theory claims that a decision is right only if it conforms to an overriding moral duty and wrong only if it violates that moral duty. Persons are to be treated as ends in themselves and never as means to the ends of others.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: B
Patients and families must be treated in a way that respects their autonomy and their ability to express their wishes and make informed choices about their treatment. Accountability is inherent in the nurse's ethical obligation to uphold the highest standards of practice and care, assume full personal and professional responsibility for every action, and commit to maintaining quality in the skill and knowledge base of the profession. Nonmaleficence is a principle that implies a duty not to inflict harm. In ethical terms, nonmaleficence means to abstain from injuring others and to help others further their own well-being by removing harm and eliminating threats. Veracity means telling the truth as a moral and ethical requirement.