Patients Spiritual Needs Case Analysis Essay
Patients Spiritual Needs Case Analysis Essay
In addition to the topic study materials, use the chart you completed and questions you answered in the Topic 3 about \”Case Study: Healing and Autonomy\” as the basis for your responses in this assignment.
Answer the following questions about a patient\’s spiritual needs in light of the Christian worldview.
1.In 200-250 words, respond to the following: Should the physician allow Mike to continue making decisions that seem to him to be irrational and harmful to James, or would that mean a disrespect of a patient\’s autonomy? Explain your rationale.
2.In 400-500 words, respond to the following: How ought the Christian think about sickness and health? How should a Christian think about medical intervention? What should Mike as a Christian do? How should he reason about trusting God and treating James in relation to what is truly honoring the principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence in James\’s care?
3.In 200-250 words, respond to the following: How would a spiritual needs assessment help the physician assist Mike determine appropriate interventions for James and for his family or others involved in his care?
Remember to support your responses with the topic study materials.
While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to Lopes Write. Refer to the Lopes Write Technical Support articles for assistance.
Benchmark Information
This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:
BS in Health Sciences 1.2; BS Nursing (RN to BSN ) 5.2
Assess for the spiritual needs and provide appropriate interventions for individuals, families, and groups.
Patients Spiritual Needs Case Analysis
Question 1.
Mike appears to be making decisions that seem irrational and harmful to James. The question then becomes whether or not the physician should allow Mike to continue making these decisions. Addressing this concern must take into consideration Mike’s autonomy as the person with the responsibility of making medical decisions for James. With regards to autonomy in decision making, there are two factors that must be deliberated. The first factor is self-determination in decision-making as it relates to autonomy in decision making. This factor is concerned with Mike’s capacity to acquire and evaluate the relevant information presented to him and translate the information into viable treatment options for James before making the decision that appears right and relevant. Mike opted to withdraw James from medical treatment and instead take him to a faith healer where his medical condition worsened before being brought back for medical treatment. It appears that Mike was not aware of the seriousness of James’ medical condition and how withdrawing him from treatment would eventually worsen his situation and cause irreversible harm (Ray, 2016). The second factor is the capacity to make decisions. Mike appears to be overwhelmed and unable to make the right decisions. Patients Spiritual Needs Case Analysis Essay He is solely focused on having his son get well and this has negatively affected his capacity to make decisions. He was unable to speedily explore the information available to him and the treatment options, and instead haphazardly made a decision that later worsened James’ medical condition. The decisions appeared rational to Mike but irrational to others. This factor is of particular concern since autonomy is limited to the extent of harm. The decision harmed the James by causing irreparable deterioration of his kidneys. The physician has a responsibility to provide the best possible medical care to James, and this responsibility would be violated if he accepts decisions that further harm the patient. The two factors indicate that the physician should not allow Mike to continue making decisions that seem irrational and harmful to James (Wancata & Henshaw, 2016).
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Question 2.
Christianity offers a unique perspective on sickness and health, noting that these are experiences that every person should expect as a reality of life on earth. In addition, they are tests that God presents to humans as a way of testing their faith and fulfilling God’s word. The Bible offers the story of Job who experienced sickness and death within his family as a test of his faith. He was rewarded when his faith remained unwavering and he refused to curse God even at his lowest point. Other Christians should similarly expect to experience sickness as a test of faith in God. The Bible also presents the creation story in which Adam and Eve initially had a life without suffering, but they disobeyed God and were punished by being cast out of Eden. They were then cursed by God to suffer sickness and death along with all their descendants. As descendants of Abraham, all humans should expect to experience illness in order to fulfill God’s word to Adam and Eve (Morrison & Furlong, 2014).
Christianity is very supportive of medical interventions. In fact, notable personalities presented in the Bible, such as Jesus Christ and Luke (who wrote the Gospel of Luke) were physicians. Jesus Christ was a renowned physician who healed a lot of sick people from across Israel. Christ affirms the validity of medical intervention by noting that the sick should seek medical care from a physician (Mathew 9:12, KJV). In addition, Prophet Isaiah was instructed by God to prescribe medication that was used to treat a boil (Isaiah 28:12, KJV). Although Christianity accepts medical intervention, this is limited by ethical and moral principles. Christianity only accepts medical intervention to the extent that it does not violate the established moral and ethical principles as presented in the Bible. In addition, Christianity is more accepting of medical interventions that are based on reasonable and supported scientific evidence (Strand & Cole, 2014). For example, euthanasia is an increasingly common medical intervention for persons with terminal illness. However, Christianity appears to have scruples with the practice of euthanasia since it violates God’s commandments about not killing.
Given the above discussions and as a Christian, Mike should permit James to seek medical treatment. The above discussions have made it clear that medical intervention that does not violate Christian moral and ethical principles should be accepted. In addition, they make it apparent that Christians should accept medical intervention that is based on reasonable and supported scientific evidence (Strand & Cole, 2014). Dialysis is a medical intervention that does not violate Christian moral and ethical principles, and is based on reasonable and supported scientific evidence. James is suffering from kidney failure that worsens when he is denied dialysis treatment. By receiving the treatment, the kidneys would be supported and their functions maintained. Given these reasons, Mike should permit James to seek medical treatment.
Even when seeking medical treatment, Mike would still exhibit his trust in God. These are verified by the principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence. The two principles would help James in exhibiting his trust in God. Firstly, the principle of beneficence focuses on helping others. Secondly, the principle of nonmaleficence focuses on not doing any harm. Based on the two principles, Mike is justified in seeking medical treatment as a viable option that helps James and ensures that he does not come to harm. The dialysis is a medical intervention that does not violate Christian tenets. Denying James the recommended medical treatment implies that he is not helped and that he is subjected to intentional harm (Cherry, 2019).
Question 3.
Spiritual needs assessment is an important tool applied by medical personnel to understand the needs of the patients, particularly religious needs and expectations. Through subjecting Mike to a spiritual needs assessment, the physician is able to create an appropriate treatment plan that is acceptable to the family and address their concerns (Black, 2020). In addition, the assessment would help the physician to better communicate with Mike and his family. Irrespective of the family’s spiritual faith and religious persuasion, their beliefs cannot be ignored in the presented treatment plan as this has implications on the decisions they make and whether or not they would accept the treatment. Through listening to what Mike and his family has to say about their religious faith and beliefs, the physician is better able to create the perception that he/she cares for the family, and recognizes and respects their spiritual dimension as a real and important aspect. Besides that, the assessment helps with understanding the expectations for treatment. Having this information is important as it helps the client to present treatment options that appeal to the needs of the family. In addition, the assessment better prepares the physician to offer the family faith-specific support and resolve any emerging conflicts between health care and religion (Isaac, Hay & Lubetkin, 2016). For example, Mike withdrew James from receiving medical treatment and took him to a faith healer, and this caused a delay that worsen the medical condition. Through conducting a spiritual needs assessment, the physician would have been better prepared to convince the family to allow James receive dialysis treatment so that his medical condition did not deteriorate. Additionally, the assessment would have ensured that the physician presents support for Mike in his decisions so that he does not experience psychological guilt from the outcomes. In this respect, the assessment would help with understanding the family’s spirituality and religion thus setting the stage for presenting the required social and referral needs such as the need for a priest to help with prayer and access to a Bible and chapel (Pozgar, 2014).
References
Black, B. (2020). Professional Nursing: Concepts & Challenges (9th ed.). Elsevier Inc.
Cherry, M. (2019). Bioethics without God: The Transformation of Medicine within a Fully Secular Culture. Christian bioethics: Non-Ecumenical Studies in Medical Morality, 25(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1093/cb/cby015
Isaac, K., Hay, J. & Lubetkin, E. (2016). Incorporating Spirituality in Primary Care. J Relig Health, 55(3), 1065-1077. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-016-0190-2
Morrison, E., & Furlong, B. (2014). Health Care Ethics: Critical Issues for the 21st Century. Jones Bartlett Learning, LLC.
Pozgar, G. (2014). Legal and Ethical Issues for Health Professionals (3rd ed.). Jones Bartlett Learning, LLC.
Ray, M. (2016). Transcultural Caring Dynamics in Nursing and Health Care (2nd ed.). F.A. Davis Company.
Strand, M., & Cole, A. (2014). Framing the Role of the Faith Community in Global Health. Christian Journal for Global Health. Christian Journal for Global Health, 1(2), 7-15. https://journal.cjgh.org/index.php/cjgh/article/view/19/109
Wancata, L., & Hinshaw, D. (2016). Rethinking autonomy: decision making between patient and surgeon in advanced illnesses. Annals of Translational Medicine, 4(4), 77. https://doi.org/10.3978/j.issn.2305-5839.2016.01.36 . Patients Spiritual Needs Case Analysis Essay
