NURS 6512 week 11.docx - Week 11 The Ethics Behind...

Week 11: The Ethics Behind Assessment
Consider the following scenarios:
 You are a nurse at a large county hospital. One of your patients is leaning toward
selecting a certain radical treatment for cancer, to which the family is in opposition. The
family is concerned about making the correct decision and asks for your advice.
 The state of Oregon has passed a “Death with Dignity” Act that allows for
euthanasia in certain situations. One of your patients suffering from terminal cancer is
thinking of moving there to take advantage of this law and asks your opinion.
Throughout this course, you have explored a wide range of health assessments and
abnormal examination findings. Although you have predominantly focused on the
procedural aspects of health assessment, this week, you will focus on ethical
considerations that should be taken into account when advising patients or their
families.
This week, you will consider how evidence-based practice guidelines and ethical
considerations factor into health assessments. You will also evaluate health assessment
concepts related to sports physicals and well-child and well-woman examinations.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
 Apply evidence-based practice guidelines to make an informed health care
decision
 Apply ethical considerations to a health assessment response
 Apply concepts, theories, and principles relating to sports physicals and well-
child and well-woman examinations
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Learning Resources
Note: To access this week's required library resources, please click on the
link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of
your Syllabus.
Required Readings
Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2015).
Seidel's guide to physical examination (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier
Mosby.