Communication and Bioethics at the End of Life Real Cases, Real Dilemmas [Hardcover]

This casebook provides a set of cases that reveal the current complexity of medical decision-making, ethical reasoning, and communication at the end of life for hospitalized patients and those who care for and about them. End-of-life issues are a controversial part of medical practice and of everyday life. Working through these cases illuminates both the practical and philosophical challenges presented by the moral problems that surface in contemporary end-of-life care. Each case involved real people, with varying goals and constraints,who tried to make the best decisions possible under demanding conditions. Though there were no easy solutions, nor ones that satisfied all stakeholders, there are important lessons to be learned about the ways end-of-life care can continue to improve. This advanced casebook is a must-read for medical and nursing students, students in the allied health professions, health communication scholars, bioethicists, those studying hospital and public administration, as well as for practicing physicians and educators. 

Preface.- Recommended References for Beginners.- Section I.- Beginnings/Endings: Complex Issues with Pregnancy, Newborns, and Young Children.- Case 1  Does the Nearness of Death Diminish the Value of a Life?.- Case 2  When Cultures Collide and a Newborn Almost Dies.- Case 3  When the Family Wont Decide.- Case 4  Aggressive Treatment for a Childs Inoperable Tumor.- Case 5  Is There Life After Death? A Case of Post-Mortem Sperm Retrieval.- Section II.- Decision-making: Families in the Mix.- Case 6  What is the Standard of Care for a Corpse?.- Case 7  When the Palliative Care Team Got Fired.- Case 8  A Young Womans Wish to Die.- Case 9  When Parents Contest an Adult Childs Advance Directive.- Case 10  Please Stop Torturing Me  Unless my Wife is in the Room!.- Case 11  Who Should Make Treatment Decisions for a Battered Spouse?.- Section III.- Autonomy and other Ideals: Balancing Benefits anl³Q