A response to Post 1 is needed (500 words). It needs to be in line with ethical and legal aspects. Scholarly literature should be included to support response.

POST 1

The central ethical questions posed by this case study are related to the principle of autonomy and virtue ethics of the health professional. I want to place my argument that execution of autonomy in the case study does not hold valid informed consent and health professionals do not act according to virtue ethics.

It is important that the patient who undergoes complex treatment like Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) ought to provide their voluntary and fully informed consent. There are three criteria for informed consent. Firstly, all required information should be provided to the patient for decision-making. Secondly, patient should be competent to understand the information and make the decision on that basis. Finally, there should not be any manipulation and coercion to the patient to make the decision (Beeker, et al. 2017).

In this case study, my concern is that the treatment-resistant depression that Mr. R is going through could have imperiled his ability to make an autonomous decision (Beeker, et al. 2017). Though Mr. R has given his consent to the procedure, I can clearly see that he has given consent to the proposed treatment because he perceives DBS as the last resort as other treatments are not working for him. According to Schermer (2011), it becomes problematic when the patient has given consent to the treatment out of desperation to his hopeless situation. I deem it unethical to gain consent from a patient who is exhibiting desperation and vulnerability because there is uncertainty that he is acting freely without any mental pressure (Becuchamp 2007). It is extremely difficult to analyze the accuracy of the informed consent when the patient has been suffering from disabling symptom for a long time; have already tried many treatments and has no hope of improvement in his situation (Desmoulin-Canselier 2020). Hence, I emphasize the statement of Schermer (2011) that the competency of the patient to consent to the treatment must be taken into consideration.

For informed consent, I would have first examined the cognitive and emotional factors of the patient to assess their level of comprehension as advised by Thomson & Carter (2020), but absent in the case study. I also strongly argue that it is important to conduct a proper pre and post-assessment and devote a significant amount of time to examine and clarify Mr. R's expectations (Kubu & Ford 2017). For respect for the patient's choice, there should be pre-procedure counseling to identify all kinds of fear and difficulties for the patient and optimize the acceptance of the treatment (Desmoulin-Canselier 2020).

Similarly, I also notice that the treatment in the case study is not autonomy-supportive because the health professional does their job of narrowing down the benefit and risk of the treatment but does not take his personal circumstances, concerns, and preferences into account, does not listen to the patient, and remain heedless to the detrimental modification of his personality (Desmoulin-Canselier 2020).

Furthermore, the nurse in the case study does not act as per virtue ethics. I am disappointed to see that the nurse focuses on the rules and tasks rather than redirecting her focus towards actions that can promote the well-being of the patient. The aspect of humanity, compassion, and kindness are lacking due to which she is more focussed on reporting task rather than initiating an action to support the patient (Sellman 2017).

While I reflect on the legal issue of the case study, I clearly see that the nurse does not fulfill her legal obligation of person-centered practice by failing to advocate on behalf of the patient and to support the right to informed consent as per the nursing code of conduct (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia 2018). Additionally, she does not conduct a comprehensive holistic assessment of the patient which is one of the standards of nursing practice (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia 2016). Lastly, the nurse fails to provide comprehensive, safe, and quality nursing practice that is not responsive to the need of the patient (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia 2016).

INSTRUCTIONS:

After reading the TRD scenario, ask yourselfwhat are the ethical and legal complexities in this situation? In your discussion, you should explain the competing claims or interests and analyse the ethical tensions by incorporating relevant ethical concepts you have been learning about throughout module 1. Focus on the ethical complexities inherent in the situation. For instance, don't simply describe the requirements to follow protocol (although of course you may include these to support your position). Try to think about the 'grey areas' and use the knowledge gained in module 1 to analyse and evaluate these.

Critically evaluate the ethical and legal issues raised by the scenario. We will look for a thoughtful approach in your posts. You should come to some clear conclusion and develop an argument to support your conclusion. For example (please note there are thousands of possible conclusions and angles to use in your analysis), your conclusion may be that Rita's actions were legally defensible, but that some of their ethical actions/decisions could have been more appropriated. If this is your conclusion, you need to spend the body of your discussion in your post arguing your case.

When responding, and replying, it would be a good idea to consider different options, weigh their merits up against one another as a part of developing your argument. You should apply ethical concepts, theories or principles as well as relevant legal considerations to justify claims. You need to show us that you have understood the content of module 1 and can see the ethical issues at stake in the case study.