Death Suicide and Euthanasia Discussion Essay

PHI-413 Topic 4 DQ 1 AND 2

Topic 4 DQ 1

            As a nurse, I often witness death in my clinical practice. The frequent encounter with death has shaped my view in accepting the fact of death and nurses must be ready to accept this reality. Nurses are trained to cope with difficult situations in clinical practice including death. However, the death of patients often strikes nurses hard and is painful to bear, especially when the patient and the nurses had developed an effective nurse-patient relationship (Utami et al., 2020). It is common for nurses to feel sad, disappointed, confused, and angry after losing a patient. However, nurses are expected to remain composed and professional after the encounter with the death of a patient. In a situation where death occurs during shift hours, nurses are required to serve other patients effectively devoid of emotions (Lin et al., 2022). However, years of gaining experience in clinical practice and more encounters with death tend to make nurses more proficient in handling grief and emotions. Moreover, social support from peers and management assists in grief management.

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            Accepting the fact of death has proved harder for me. I am empathetic and this attribute has made it challenging for me to accept death. The feeling of confusion and grief after the death of a patient tends to last longer than the time spent with the patient during the care process. In most cases, the death of my patients triggers the memories of relatives and close associates who have died. In turn, the death of a patient becomes personal, leading the psychological distress (Solomon, 2020). Nonetheless, as a professional nurse, I must accept the fact of death as an integral part of nursing practice and my obligation. Grief is a demonstration that I fulfilled my obligation of patient care.

References

Lin, X., Li, X., Bai, Y., Liu, Q., & Xiang, W. (2022). Death-coping self-efficacy and its influencing factors among Chinese nurses: A cross-sectional study. Plos One, 17(9), e0274540. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0274540

Solomon, F. (2020). Understanding Grief and Loss, it’s as unique as individuals themselves. HealGrief. Retrieved from https://healgrief.org/understanding-grief/

Utami, R. S., Pujianto, A., Setyawan, D., Naviati, E., & Rochana, N. (2020). Critical care nurses’ experiences of end-of-life care: A qualitative study. Nurse Media Journal of Nursing, 10(3), 260-274. DOI: 10.14710/nmjn.v10i3.31302

Topic 4 DQ 2

               Based on the topic readings, life is a precious gift from God. As such, a deliberate attempt to end the life of a person amounts to a denial of a gift of life. On that note, suicide and euthanasia are sinful and immoral because they contravene the duty given to human beings to safeguard the sanctity of life. I agree with this perspective. No one should commit suicide or end the life of others, instead, life needs to be valued, protected, and respected (Reed, 2021). Nurse practitioners should always strive to ensure patients are given the best possible health care services. In difficult situations where a patient is in severe pain and suffering, nurses should strive to relieve the pain and make the patient comfortable. However, only God has the power to give and take away life.

               The advocates of physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia claim that taking away life is essential in ending the immense pain and suffering in patients. They argue that physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are only recommended for terminally ill patients who cannot be treated and are going through extreme pain (Dugdale et al., 2019). However, people should acknowledge that suffering is part of human life that may serve certain meanings and purposes in life. As a Christian, I believe that God uses terminally ill patients to demonstrate His powers in various ways including healing such patients. As such, no one needs to willingly end the life of another person but let God do His Will (Sulmasy, 2021). Moreover, it is inappropriate to consider death as a solution to pain and suffering. Rather, it is important to trust in God and let His Will be done.

References

Dugdale, L. S., Lerner, B. H., & Callahan, D. (2019). Focus: Death: Pros and Cons of Physician Aid in Dying. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 92(4), 747. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6913818/

Reed, P. A. (2021). Physicians assisted suicide, and Christian virtues. Christian bioethics: Non-Ecumenical Studies in Medical Morality, 27(1), 50-68. https://doi.org/10.1093/cb/cbaa021

Sulmasy, D. P. (2021). Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia: Theological and Ethical Responses. Christian bioethics: Non-Ecumenical Studies in Medical Morality, 27(3), 223-227. https://doi.org/10.1093/cb/cbab015

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Topic 4 DQ 1
Assessment Description
Assessment Description
How often do you engage with or witness death in your work? How has this experience or the lack of it shaped your view of death? Has it gotten easier or harder for you to accept the fact of death? As you explain, include your clinical specialty.

Topic 4 DQ 2

Assessment Description
Reflect on the analysis of the sin of suicide and, thus, euthanasia from the topic readings. Do you agree? Why or why not? Refer to the lecture and topic readings in your response.