In the line of duty
Carlson, K.
Journal of Post Anesthesia Nursing 6(6): 450; 449
1991
ISSN/ISBN: 0883-9433 PMID: 1748972 Document Number: 318609
In light of recent events that have raised ethical and legal dilemmas in the health care field, the author explains that nurses now have a duty to participate in the debate over these issues and to educate the public. The author, a staff nurse in the Abbott-Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, explains that the city has recently witnessed a series of events with ethical overtones that have captured national attention. In one case, the hospital sought judicial guidance on whether an 87-year-old comatose women--dependent on a ventilator for over a year--should continue to receive the costly and labor-intensive care simply because the family desired it. Although the hospital argued that continuing to provide care would only prolong a futile life, the court ruled that only the family could make the decision of whether or not to continue care. Coincidentally, around the same time as the court case, Minneapolis hosted the International Special Olympics, and event that brought together individuals with mental and physical disabilities for athletic competition. The event illustrated that there is no consensus on the definition of a futile life. In one other event that captured national headlines, 2 physicians admitted that they had continued to practice medicine despite knowing that they were infected with the AIDS virus. These disclosures heightened the debate over mandatory HIV testing for health care workers--especially for health care workers who perform invasive procedures. This debate has raised a number of issues: confidentiality, the safety of patients, as well as the safety of health care workers. The author explains that such issues of life and death are often drowned in emotionalism and public hysteria. Nurses have a duty to see that the public is educated.