End-of-Life Decisions

Your manager asked you to prepare an article for a community newsletter for a local retirement village. The editor wants you to talk about the laws, policies, and choices surrounding end-of-life health care decisions

Preparation 

Search the Capella library and the Internet for scholarly and professional peer-reviewed articles on end-of-life care. You will need at least three articles to use as support for your work on this assessment.

Directions

Write an article of 750–1,000 words (3–4 pages) that discusses the laws, policies,and choices surrounding end-of-life health care decisions. Address the following in your article: 

• Describe the role of the nurse in end-of-life decision making with patients and their families.
  • Explain the legislation that generated end-of-life health care policies. Was the legislation an outcome of a specific medical case?
  • Identify the primary policies regarding current health care practices related to end-of-life health care decisions. How to these policies affect treatment decisions?
  • Explain the effect of end-of-life regulations and controls on patient outcomes. What effect does this have on the nurse-patient relationship?
  • Describe the ethical considerations that have influenced policy decisions in regard to end-of-life decisions.

Additional Requirements

Your article should meet the following requirements:

• Written communication:Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overallmessage.
  • References: Cite a minimum of threeresources; a majority of these should be peer-reviewed sources. Your referencelist should be appropriate to the body of literature available on this topicthat has been published in the past 5 years.
  • APA format: Resources and citationsshould be formatted according to current APA style and formatting.
  • Length: 750–1,000 words or 3–4typed, double-spaced pages, excluding title page and reference page. UseMicrosoft Word to complete the assessment.
  • Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point. To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged toconsider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a workassociate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community.
  • How should nurses manage patients whose end-of-life decisionsmay run contrary to their personal beliefs and values?
  • How can nurses influence new policies, laws, or legislationregarding end-of life decisions?
  • What are some of the most difficult decisions patients andfamilies have to make at the end of the patient’s life?

·         Context

Nurses are at the bedside during the dying process; they spend entire shifts with patients and families; they develop trusting relationships; and they are competent to assess patient and family needs. Nurses gain a unique perspective that allows them to become aware when a patient is not responding to treatment. This perspective places nurses in a position to facilitate end-of-life decision making. (Adams, Bailey. Anderson, & Docherty, 2011, para. 4)

• Overview

Write an article for a community newsletter for a local retirement village that explains the laws, policies, and choices surrounding end-of-life health care decisions.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Explain the effect of health care policies, legislation, and legal issues on health care delivery and patient outcomes.
  • Identify the primary policies that define current health care practices in regard to end-of-life health care decisions.
  • Explain the legislation that generated end-of-life health care policies.
  • Competency 2: Explain the effect of regulatory environments and controls on health care delivery and patient outcomes.
    • Explain the effect of end-of-life regulations and controls on patient outcomes.
  • Competency 3: Apply professional nursing ethical standards and principles to the decision-making process.
    • Describe the role of the nurse in end-of-life decision making with patients and their families.
    • Describe the ethical considerations that have influenced policy decisions in regard to end-of-life decisions.
  • Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is consistent with expectations of nursing professionals.
    •  Write content clearly and logically, with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
    • Correctly format citations and references using APA style.
•  

End-of-Life Decisions Scoring Guide

End-of-Life Decisions Scoring Guide Grading Rubric
Criteria	Non-performance	Basic	Proficient	Distinguished
Describe the role of the nurse in end-of-life decision making with patients and their families.	Does not describe the role of the nurse in end-of-life decision making with patients and their families.	Describes the role of the nurse in end-of-life decision making with patients and their families but the information is incomplete.	Describes the role of the nurse in end-of-life decision making with patients and their families.	Describes the role of the nurse in end-of-life decision making with patients and their families, and identifies strategies for an effective process.
Identify the primary policies that define current health care practices in regard to end-of-life health care decisions.	Does not identify the primary policies that define current health care practices in regard to end-of-life health care decisions.	Identifies some policies that define current health care practices in regard to end-of-life health care decisions but key policies are missing.	Identifies the primary policies that define current health care practices in regard to end-of-life health care decisions.	Identifies the primary policies that define current health care practices in regard to end-of-life health care decisions, and explains how the policies have changed the way health care professionals work with patients.
Explain the effect of end-of-life regulations and controls on patient outcomes.	Does not explain the effect of end-of-life regulations and controls on patient outcomes.	Explains the effect of end-of-life regulations and controls on patient outcomes but key elements are missing from the explanations.	Explains the effect of end-of-life regulations and controls on patient outcomes.	Explains the effect of end-of-life regulations and controls on patient outcomes and why it is important to make end-of-life decisions with a health care professional.
Explain the legislation that generated end-of-life health care policies.	Does not explain the legislation that generated end-of-life health care policies.	Identifies but does not explain the legislation that generated end-of-life health care policies.	Explains the legislation that generated end-of-life health care policies.	Explains the legislation that generated end-of- life health care policies and includes a brief summary of why these laws were passed.
Describe the ethical considerations that have influenced policy decisions in regard to end-of-life decisions.	Does not describe the ethical considerations that have influenced policy decisions in regard to end-of-life decisions.	Identifies but does not describe the ethical considerations that have influenced policy decisions in regard to end-of-life decisions.	Describes the ethical considerations that have influenced policy decisions in regard to end-of-life decisions.	Describes the ethical considerations that have influenced policy decisions in regard to end-of-life decisions and illustrates with real-world examples.
Write content clearly and logically, with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.	Does not write content clearly, logically, or with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.	Writes with errors in clarity, logic, grammar, punctuation, or mechanics.	Writes content clearly and logically, with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.	Writes clearly and logically, with correct use spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics, and uses relevant evidence to support a central idea.
Correctly formats citations and references using APA style.	Does not format citations and references using APA style.	Formats citations and references with errors.	Correctly formats citations and references using APA style. Citations contain a few errors.	Correctly formats citations and references using APA style. Citations are free from all errors.