Ethics in the Later Years

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Ethics in the Later Years

• Bertha Brannen
• May 1, 2009

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What is Ethics?

• Rules, standards, moral values or principles
  guiding our actions
• Values Yours, mine theirs
• Vulnerability Who holds the power? Who has the
  right to speak?
• Victory Common understanding. What role does
  the person in care/ family get to play?

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Some Common Issues

• Access to care, including diagnosis
• Cost of treatment technology
• Restraints chemical physical
• Medications purpose polypharmacy
• Understanding choices right to refuse
• Time to say enough treatment
• Outcomes driven by consumer?
• End of life issues

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Identifying Ethical Issues

• Awful feeling in the pit of your stomach
• Right thing may not be for the right reason
• Why are we doing this for this person?
• Feeling rushed pushed to make decision
• Stuck in the middle

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Role of Caregiver

• Recognize your own values, spirituality
  strength, peace security
• Consider your audience think of culture, social
  context, spiritual beliefs, education, life
  experiences personality
• Invite conversation
• Bring body, mind spirit to conversation

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Advocacy Role

• Invite questions, ask questions, then answer
• Bring advocacy voice
• Healthy workplace equals healthy persons in care
• Identify shortages waste of resources
• Take your voice to address issues
• Feel good about what you do

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Solutions

• You know more than you realize
• Focus on relationships
• Begin conversations that change
• Encourage persons to focus on their values
• Adapt to persons prior expressed views
• Create the culture that can make a difference
• Nakile example (End of Life Booklet)

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DIC

• If you have learned DIC today, good for me
• Dignity
• Integrity
• Choice
• If we lose trust people have in us to treat
  them collectively rather than individually, we
  have lost Ethicist

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See you next time