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Biomedical subjects

A L Gaul

Publications and source records attributed to A L Gaul.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Safety or autonomy. An ethical issue for clinical gerontological nurses.

A common dilemma is whether to ensure a safe environment for the older person or to allow the older person to continue to live independently in an environment where personal safety may not be ensured. Conflicting opinions between marginally competent older adults and adult children regarding satisfactory living arrangements involve a forced choice between the moral principles of beneficence and autonomy. An ethical dilemma cannot be resolved on the basis of values alone. Pertinent ethical principles must be applied and an ethical theory used to guide the resolution. Autonomy is considered the supreme ethical principle in Western culture. The decision to set it aside, even to promote safety, takes rigorous ethical justification.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1990

Should a ventilator be removed at a patient's request? An ethical analysis.

The request of a ventilator-dependent quadriplegic person to be removed from the ventilator presents the health care team with an ethical dilemma. Application of ethical principles to case facts guides the decision maker. The ethical principle of autonomy requires that persons be respected and free to determine their course in life. The ethical principle of beneficence requires the health care team to actively benefit or do good for the patient. The ethical principle of nonmaleficence requires the health care team to refrain from harming a patient. The ethical duty of fidelity requires the nurse to be faithful to commitments made to patients. Ethical principles and duties are clear and straightforward. The decision of how they apply to a given case is not. However, applying them to a case, while not providing definitive answers, will provide the certainty that the decision was the best possible in a particular set of circumstances. An increasing number of cases similar to Joe's is being resolved in favor of discontinuing the ventilator. Emotional havoc could be the result to nurses who care for these patients. Individuals and institutions must begin planning strategies to deal with these and similar ethical dilemmas. Strategies might include anticipatory counseling, ethical decision making education programs and utilization of a nurse trained in ethics as a staff resource person. Nurses should attend and be involved in discussions of institutional ethics committees.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1990

The ethics of clinical judgment in critical care.

Ethical decision making is an inherent part of the clinical judgment process in critical care nursing. It can cause considerable mental discomfort and stress. Although applying ethical theories to the clinical decision-making process does not provide absolute solutions, it does increase the nurse's confidence in the basis on which the decisions are made. Increasing the awareness of the ethical component of clinical decisions will increase the nurse's ability to deal with the perplexing ethical issues that permeate critical care nursing.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Ethics content in baccalaureate degree curricula. Clarifying the issues.

Competency in ethical decision making is an identified expectation of the baccalaureate degree graduate. Values, both personal and professional, do not provide a systematic foundation for ethical decision making. The nurse is a unique health care provider and as such is faced with ethical decision of practice that are derived from and are relevant to that role. An understanding of ethical principles and theories as well as application of them to the role of the professional nurse is essential to ethical decision making in nursing practice. Seventy four per cent of recent graduates stated that the ethical content in their nursing programs most influenced their ethical decision-making skills, yet, only 23% used an ethical model or framework in analyzing and resolving the ethical dilemma of practice. The usual format for presentation of this content is a course in ethics. The content of such courses should include ethical theories and principles and their application to the practice of nursing. Teaching methodologies include guided case analysis and written responses to cases and current issues. Placement of separate required ethics courses remains a problem because of the overwhelming amount of content in baccalaureate degree curricula. Research has tentatively validated the need for a separate required course in nursing ethics. Further studies are necessary. If ethics content is integrated throughout the curriculum, it should be presented early with continual reinforcement and with the use of a specific ethics textbook. Research indicates that students who have completed a nursing ethics course not only know the correct ethical action but are more likely to implement it.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Bioethical Issues↗
PubMed1987

The effect of a course in nursing ethics on the relationship between ethical choice and ethical action in baccalaureate nursing students.

This study examined the effect of an ethics course on the variables of ethical choice and ethical action in baccalaureate nursing students. Data were collected from 17 students who were enrolled in a three-credit elective course in ethics and from 20 students who were matched for placement in the curriculum but who were not enrolled in the ethics course. The ethics course consisted of study of the major ethical principles and theories as well as guided ethical case analysis with emphasis on the role and responsibilities of the nurse. Ethical choice and ethical action were measured by Ketefian's Judgment About Nursing Decisions. The variables of moral choice and moral action were positively correlated r = .87 (p less than .001) in the students who were enrolled in the ethics course and they were negatively correlated at r = -.32 (p .34) in the students who were not enrolled in the ethics course. Overall scores of the two groups on both column A (Ethical Choice) and column B (Ethical Action) were not significantly different. The total scores of the ethics group were higher. The results of this study lend support to the inclusion of a course in ethics in nursing curricula. Continued research into this area should continue to be a high priority.

Adult↗