Spiritual Needs in Healthcare
Question 1
Respect for autonomy is directly associated with the patient. In this case, James is the patient, and the parent is only allowed to make decisions in the best interest of James. The professional responsibility of the physician is to ensure that the decisions made are in the best interest of James (Beattie et al. 2019). The physician should not allow Mike to make decisions that are irrational and could harm James. However, the physician could be faced by a conflict where Mike claims to have full responsibility for their son. Besides, James is young and could be unable to have a substantial autonomy concerning the decisions to be made on their life. In this case, the physician should use their professional skills to have Mike under control and ensure that Mike makes rational decisions. The duty to provide protection and ascertain health determines how a physician interacts with their clients. The case of Mike and Joanne is seen as one that is affected by desperation. The decisions made by Mike are in desperate efforts to have their son healed. The physician can use the experience to prove to mike that his past efforts have been futile and that James needs the best decisions to be made. Generally, Mike will agree with the physician if the health of James is saved. Therefore, the physician should not allow Mike to continue making irrational decisions.
Question 2
Spirituality is essential in the healing process of a patient. Rationality plays a crucial role in determining the decisions that an individual makes concerning health. Mike is a Christian, and his faith is seen to have impacted the decisions affecting the health of his son. For example, Mike had decided to seek spiritual healing at the expense of dialysis, a decision that made James’ condition worse, and he has to undergo a kidney transplant. Christians should think of sickness and suffering as a necessary condition, although methods such as medical interventions provide a way of improving the confidence of alleviating disease and pain. The understanding of the role of medical intervention is essential in Christian life. Having faith in God does not imply that an individual should not go after medical intervention. The decision by Mike to seek spiritual healing could have been caused by a misunderstanding of the role of healing in the Christian perspective. Healthcare is based on the provision of care, which is one of the values of Christianity. Generally, medical intervention is presented as a way of alleviating from the impacts of sickness and suffering and not as contrary to obeying God.
Mike should trust God to heal James by seeking medication. Christianity is based on the belief that God uses various methods to provide healing and medical intervention is one of the strategies that God uses. The healthcare practitioners operate under the calling of providing care and service to others, and Christianity encourages similar values. The principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence are based on the idea of not causing harm and avoiding actions that cause harm (Welborn, 2019). In the case of Mike, some decisions, such as denying the need for medical intervention is equal to causing harm to James. Christianity does not allow an individual to cause harm to others and thus goes in line with the requirements of beneficence. Also, the principle of nonmaleficence encourages individuals to avoid actions that are harmful to others. For example, Mike should avoid making decisions that put the life of James at risk. Usually, the lack of sufficient information on the role of spirituality may lead to conflicts in decision-making. Generally, the theories of beneficence and nonmaleficence are defined in a way that they go hand in hand with the requirements of Christianity.
Question 3
Spiritual practices and beliefs are crucial in healthcare because they determine how the professional and the patient interact. Generally, spirituality has affected how individuals perceive medical intervention, and sometimes people have developed misleading perspectives. Mike, for example, makes a decision that worsens James’ situation due to his spiritual belief. Although spirituality cannot be ignored in healthcare, a spiritual needs assessment can play a crucial role in changing the perspectives held due to spirituality (Macdonald, 2019). Healthcare practitioners are trained to operate on diverse spirituality, and they encounter challenges due to a lack of knowledge on the best methods of addressing spiritual perspectives. A spiritual needs assessment is essential in improving the physician-patient relationship and impacts the healing process positively. Besides, the assessment equips physicians with the knowledge that prevents them from forcing the patients to agree with particular ideas. Instead, spiritual needs assessment helps physicians to know the best methods of addressing the challenges caused by spirituality without facing unnecessary challenges. The physician is in a position to help Mike in making better decisions after learning about his spiritual needs. Also, the physician can help in addressing the role of the family in making decisions that end up affecting the health of James. A spiritual needs assessment is essential in ensuring that James does not continue suffering from irrational decisions coming from spiritual beliefs and practices.
References
Beattie, E., O’Reilly, M., Fetherstonhaugh, D., McMaster, M., Moyle, W., & Fielding, E. (2019). Supporting autonomy of nursing home residents with dementia in the informed consent process. Dementia, 18(7-8), 2821-2835.
Macdonald, G. (2019). Spiritual needs assessment: the LOADS SHARED mnemonic. British Journal of General Practice, 69(688), 573-574.
Welborn, A. (2019, October). Moral distress of nurses surrounding neonatal abstinence syndrome: Application of a theoretical framework. In Nursing forum (Vol. 54, No. 4, pp. 499-504).