Ethical and cultural aspects of caring for the patient

For this assignment, you will select one of the cases that follow and write a 3–5 page expository paper that addresses both the ethical and cultural aspects of caring for the patient. You will have the opportunity to identify ethical issues within the field of mental health nursing and you will use principles of sound reasoning to plan culturally sensitive care for clients.

Ethics and culture are important components of nursing care. It is important for you to thoroughly understand and apply the five principles of bioethics: beneficence, autonomy, justice, fidelity, and veracity. You must also understand cultural competence in order to care for all patients holistically. Dr. Josepha Campinha-Bacote recommends a blueprint with the Process of Cultural Competence in the Delivery of Health Care Model.

Select one of the following case studies as the focus of your paper:

A.L., a 78-year-old female, is diagnosed with dementia. She has regressed to her native language, which is Russian. The nurse assigned to A.L. is looking at the new orders and states, “Wow, 1000mg of Depakene sounds like a lot of medication.” The nurse then retrieves the medication and proceeds to give A.L. the Depakene. As you look at the medication administration record, you notice that the writing is very sloppy. It is difficult to read the actual mg amount of the medication. The next day, you are called to the unit manager’s office. The unit manager would like you to tell her what happened with the 78-year-old patient, as she died during the night.

J.M., a 48-year-old male Navajo tribe member, is brought to your unit with suicidal ideation and a diagnosis of alcohol abuse. J.M. refused the psychotropic medications prescribed to him on the unit. The psychiatrist told the nurse to hide the medicine in his food. The evening nurse complied with this order. When the man noticed that there was a pill in his food, he asked the nurse what was happening. The nurse stated, “You must take your medications. You will be sick without them.” The man turned the table over and was consequently put in restraints.

W.P., a 32-year-old Asian female, is brought to the hospital and placed in your care. W.P. is well known to you and others in the hospital for being a frequent flyer. However, on this visit W.P. tells you that her husband beats her repeatedly and she comes to the hospital for help, but is fearful that he will find out. She tells you, “Please do not tell anyone about this.” The patient’s husband happens to be a prominent professor at the local university and is always in the paper for helping the less fortunate in the community. He is also a hospital board member.

Begin by selecting one of the preceding case studies as the topic for your paper.
Your paper should begin with a thesis paragraph summarizing your position with regard to the ethical and cultural issue(s) present in the case study.
The body of your paper should provide support for your thesis and should demonstrate critical thinking in planning culturally sensitive care for the client.
The body of the paper should include five sections (not including the thesis paragraph).
Section 1: Define the problem. Be sure to get to the heart of the ethical and cultural issues present in the case study. You must identify at least one ethical issue in the case
Section 2: Analyze the problem. Carefully analyze the problem and explain its significance to the patient and to the patient’s culture as a whole. Be sure to recognize the various perspectives associated with the ethical and cultural issue(s) in the case study.
Section 3: Design a minimum of three possible solutions to the problem.
Section 4: Examine your proposed solutions to the problem. Discuss the pros and cons of each possible solution.
Section 5: Select the best possible solution to the problem and explain the reasoning that supports your perspective. Why is this solution the best? Important: The solution you select in section 5 should reinforce your thesis statement. It may actually be easier for your to write section 5 and then go back to write your thesis statement.
Section 6: Select a theory discussed in the Mental Health book and apply it to your solution. Why does this theory reinforce the best possible solution to the problem?
Your thesis paragraph is really a preview of the conclusion of your argument that takes place in the final paragraph.