Nursing: Critically explore the ethical issues encountered in the nursing management of the palliative care patient

(Hertogh , 2009 . In this situation , the patient is in a comatose condition and it is common for a patient to gradually deteriorate through the weeks or months . Other medical conditions that involve the loss of communication include patients that have been diagnosed with serious mental health conditions and these patients are unable to express what they want . In the neonatal wards , newborn babies have not yet acquired the ability to speak and thus it is difficult to determine whether these very young patients are suffering when they are diagnosed with a chronic

medical condition or congenital abnormality (Martens 2008

Euthanasia may be conducted through different means . The administration of a highly toxic chemical to a patient in to induce death is considered as active euthanasia . On the other hand , the discontinuation of a particular treatment that is considered as critical to the life of a patient is categorized as passive euthanasia . Another form of passive euthanasia is the refusal of a healthcare professional to provide the patient a particular treatment , with the knowledge that the discontinuation of this treatment will eventually result in the patient 's death . One prime example of passive euthanasia is the disconnection of the life support system of a patient whose main mechanism for breathing is the respirator

There are other terms that are commonly interchanged to refer to the concept of euthanasia , such as physician-assisted suicide and mercy killing . The procedure of withholding treatment is also another phrase that refers to euthanasia . In the case of physician-assisted suicide the patient requests that his life be ended because of the extreme suffering he is experiencing . In turn , the physician attending to the patient provides a lethal drug that the patient himself could take at his own accord (Materstvedt et al , 2003 . For withholding treatment the decision...