A nurse who works in the specialty of palliative care frequently encounters issues and situations that constitute ethical dilemmas. What issue has most often presented challenging ethical issues, especially in the context of palliative care?
A) The increase in cultural diversity in the United States
B) Staffing shortages in health care and questions concerning quality of care
C) Increased costs of health care coupled with inequalities in access
D) Ability of technology to prolong life beyond meaningful quality of life
Ans: D
Feedback:
The application of technology to prolong life has raised several ethical issues. The major question is, "Because we can prolong life through increasingly sophisticated technology, does it necessarily follow that we must do so?" The increase in cultural diversity has not raised ethical issues in health care. Similarly, costs and staffing issues are relevant, but not central to the most common ethical issues surrounding palliative care.
You might also like to view...
The primary objective of an advance directive is to
a. Give families the right to make health-care decisions for the patient b. Follow the wishes of the person who wrote it c. Prevent abuse of incompetent patients d. Give the state permission to make life-or-death decisions for the patient
Which is an example of a health promotion activity practiced by a woman?
a. Seeks early prenatal care c. Exercises at the gym b. Obtains an annual Pap smear d. Takes birth control pills
A patient, weighing 90 kg, had a urine output of 25 cc over the last 12 hours. The nurse would categorize this patient's acute renal functioning as being which of the following according to the RIFLE criteria?
1. risk 2. failure 3. injury 4. loss
Which of the following is not part of the basic information a patient should be taught about her medications?
A. how to pay for the drugs B. interactions with other drugs C. side effects D. purpose of the medication