Ethics Committees

renerian, BSN, RN · Oct 17, 2003

I sat on one for home health. What would you like to know and yes I have referred employees and patients to ours.

renerian

renerian, BSN, RN · Oct 17, 2003

I sat on one for home health. What would you like to know and yes I have referred employees and patients to ours. I was the chair of several home health ones for over about 5 years.

renerian

renerian, BSN, RN · Oct 17, 2003

Sorry I tried to delete the second post but it will not let me. LOL.

renerian

JuicyJem · Oct 17, 2003

Thanks so much for replying.

I would like to know examples of cases that the committee dealt with and who the members were. (ie, were there a certain number of MD's, RN's, social workers, chaplains required).

My presentation is required to be 10-15 minutes, and the information I am finding in books and articles just briefly mentions the Ethics Committess.

Thanks!

renerian, BSN, RN · Oct 17, 2003

Okay. On our committee we had our medical director, one clinical director, the chair, one field nurse, one home health aide, one social worker, one therapist, on community member, a chaplain,

the administrator, a family member or the client if either wanted to attend, the case manager, one consumer and I think that was it. You want a mix of health care workers and non health care workers. You invite the Dr. of the client/issue being discussed.

We discussed things like families not wanting the patient to know they were terminal, feeding tubes, DNRCC or DNRCCA ( the clients wishes if they differs from the family), placeboes and such.

There are terms such as beneficence vs. non beneficence and other terms. what you might want to do is call a hospital or home health agency and ask if they will share some information with you to get the verbage right.

Unfortunately I had to leave all my information with the companies I worked for so I do not have all my research here.

renerian

Noney · Oct 17, 2003

I'm curious, how much actual power does an athics commitee have?

Noney

Tweety, BSN, RN · Oct 17, 2003

Noney, the ethics committee just got involved in a patient yesterday on our floor. A mom wanted to make her 47 daughter a DNR and stop a dopamine drip and let her daughter pass without treatment. She had end-stage cancer and had fought a good fight. The doctor refused, wanted the patient in ICU and declined to make the patient a DNR without a living will. Patient could not make decisions on her own.

The ethics committee steps in, called the doc and basically told him he had no right to keep this dying woman alive and had to legally honor the mom's wishes. The MD followed the recommendations of the ethics committee and the patient died peacefully.

Other instances the ethics committee when dealing with family issues don't have as much power to persuade the family.

But I was very impressed with their handing of this one patient's case and being the advocate for the mom against the MD.

bagladyrn, RN · Oct 18, 2003

A recent case in which I saw the ethics commitee called: pregnant woman hemorrhaging, alternative treatments not effective, ultrasound showed a heartbeat on an approx. 18 week fetus, Catholic hospital. Ethics committee was contacted regarding emergency d&c/termination.

renerian, BSN, RN · Oct 18, 2003

They really do not have power so to speak. They make recommendations. If a lawsuit occured and a doc/nurse or such did not heed the recommendations of the committee/ family/staff then I am sure that would not be a good thing.

We only made suggestions for how to deal with ethical conflicts by discussing many points of view. They are long long long meetings.

renerian