The Role of a Critical Care Nurse

In the article, lawful Aspects of End of Life C be. author, Nurse Claire M. McGowan, explains that when perform the role of a critical bursting charge maintain acting as the assist for the long-suffering, his/her family, and significant others, it Is essential that the nurse has an cause of wakeless implications associated with end of feel premeditation. McGowan goes on to provide information on the legal principles involved In end-of-life cope, specifically addressing limitations in intercession, assessing capacity and using substitution last makers and medical futility.In hallow to explain limitations in reatment, McGowan begins by listing what the courts have formal as Ilfe sustaining treatments which include mechanical ventilation, declension transfusions, dialysis, chemotherapy, artificial nutrition, and hydration. Although a competent or incompetent terminally ill patient with carry ons directives has the right has to refuse these treatments, there are rare c ases when the state court whitethorn override that right preservation of life, stripe of suicide, protection of third parties such as children, and preserving the Integrity of the medical profession (McGowan, 2011).Next, ccording to McGowan, if a patient is deemed incompetent the patient may be assigned a surrogate to make decisions on their behalf with respect to their advance directives. If a there is no forward-looking directive or surrogate nominate to the patient then the medical squad may determine the plan of care for the patient (McGowan, 2011 Lastly, McGowan addresses medical futility, defined, as such, when treatment is no longer deemed a profit to the patient. According to McGowan, arriving at this determination and accept futility Is often stressful, inciting disagreements between the patients/surrogates and medical professionals involved.In order to resolve deviationing Interests, McGowan suggests a miscellany of methods that can be utilized to amend communic ation between the two parties including reservation attempts to negotiate understanding between parties as to what constitutes futile care before conflict matures, using joint decision making, and using consultants to reach satisfactory resolution of disagreements. If these methods become to attention unite the parties decision an morals committee may be utilized to reach a determination, the patient may be transferred to some other medical provider within the institution or to another Institution altogether (McGowan, 2011).In my opinion, Nurse McGowan clearly presented how important it is for a critical care nurse to have a operative knowledge of the legal aspects of end of life care and how he/she can help to make sure that the patients rights are respectfully carried out either directly or indirectly during end of life. After construe this article, It was impressed upon me that since the nurse is the main appoint of contact with the patient, family, and significant othe rs during treatment, It becomes the responsibility of the nurse to help mediate conflicts that may arise during care, in order to protect the patients beat out interests.