The Nursing and Euthanasia: Review of Argument-Based Ethics Literature

Title: The Nursing and Euthanasia: Review of Argument-Based Ethics Literature
Authors: ToonQuaghebeur,
Bernadette Dierckx de Casterlé
Chris Gastmans
Introduction
Ethics in health care is one of the most debated issues and draws a lot of sharp criticism. Over the years there have ground breaking cases that revolutionize the way medical practices are seen and implemented relative to the needs of the patients and the medical practices taught in class. For health care provides, staying above the tide is always the key to avoiding law suits and cautionary letter from the medical superintendent, CEOs and board summons. One of the issues that up now continue to draw sharp criticism is euthanasia. Otherwise referred to mercy killing or assisted suicide, the matter has been at the top of discussion agendas across the media and medical institutions. Ideally it refers to the element of a patient or their loved deciding that the patient will end their life in light of chronic and untreatable conditions (Quaghebeur, Dierckx&Gastmans, 2009). It is common among the cancer patients who are in the latter stages of the disease.
Nursing and Euthanasia: a review of argument-based ethics literature
There has been a lot of scholarly material that has been written in light of the development following the debates on euthanasia. In one of the most interesting research papers ToonQuaghebeur, Bernadette Dierckx de Casterléand Chris Gastmans, in the paper titled The Nursing and Euthanasia: Review Of Argument-Based Ethics Literature, they use a different approach than the traditional research papers. In their paper instead of using the sample sizes from the actual population, they use previousresearch papers as their sample. Their argument piece is literature review based, where they examine previous articles on the basis of positive and negative aspects of euthanasia relative to the principles of justice, non-maleficence, respect for autonomy and beneficence, in close relation to the ethical basis of the nursing profession and care.The aim of the paper is to gain the insight of the nursing practices and ethics surrounding euthanasia through the use of previous research paper. In their methodology, the use a series of four questions to ensure that they exhaust all the options of getting their argument in line with literature review guidelines(Quaghebeur, Dierckx&Gastmans, 2009). As such the method includes identification of the focus questions, identifying research papers relevant to the focus question, assessing the adequacy of the ethics arguments in the papers and identification of the conclusions and the positions that the authors take relative to the subject matter. Using a number of key words such as, voluntary euthanasia, euthanasia among others on the major medical databases such PubMed, Scopus and CINAHL among others; they used 41 articles to establish their argument research. In reference to the results of the paper, the authors reviewed the aspect of euthanasia with reference to concept of care, principles of care and health care professionalism. In the discussion the authors give their readers some insights on the aspects of care when considered against care oriented approaches when compared to the principle based approaches. They also bring out the aspects of ethical arguments and empirical arguments in nursing care and their basic elements. At the end of the paper, the authors conclude that there is need for further studies in light of the current implications derived from the existing body of literature concerning euthanasia in nursing care(Quaghebeur, Dierckx&Gastmans, 2009).
Critique
The entire paper in itself is a based on a literature review format. In essence the authors of the paper, reviewed some of the existing research paper with reference to the aspects of euthanasia in the nursing profession. However, the paper does have a section that would be said to take the form literature review, where they tabulate the various papers in light of the authors, the country of origin, how the paper defines euthanasia, the position of the authors and the forthcoming arguments in light of principles, profession and care approaches. While the literature review section of the paper is not written in the traditional prose form, it does give the readers a chance to read through the content of the material in context of the premise of the paper. Considering the total number of the papers reviewed was 41, the tabulation is an easy way of presenting the content for the readers to quickly go through and context with the context of the paper(Quaghebeur, Dierckx&Gastmans, 2009).
Elements of euthanasia date back to the 5th century, in a time when the Greeks and the Romans showed their support for the concept(Euthanasia.procon.org, 2015). While the concept may be traced back to the ancient times, it one of the most debated aspects in the health care circles relative to the amount controversy t has raised the world over. Last year, 2014, Belgium recognized the need to have the law allowing euthanasia to people of all ages (Euthanasia.procon.org, 2015). This means that children can also be euthanized in Belgium, provided that they understand what it mean, the request is made in writing, a second outside doctor confirms the request and a psychiatrist performs tests to establish the mental health of the patient in relation to thei...