Ethics and Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ethics and Law - Essay Example It shall consider ethical and legal support for this nurse’s actions, reflecting on the possible future actions which can also be applied. Body Gibbs Reflective Cycle Description A 70-year old patient was admitted to the casualty department after a road traffic accident. He sustained severe injuries which required blood transfusion, but has refused to give his consent to such treatment due to his religious beliefs. He is fully aware that his life is at risk and he needs the blood transfusion if he were to survive. He drifted in and out of consciousness several times during his confinement. His family arrived and agreed that he needs the blood transfusion; however, he still refused such intervention. The nurses have tried to convince him, but he still could not be refused. Another nurse commented to the patient’s relatives that he did not see why they were making a big fuss about his refusal when the patient was old and would probably not have much longer to live anyway. Feelings I felt helpless in this case because I wanted very much to assist the patient in recovering and I felt helpless about our inability to perform a simple and routine procedure which would make a significant impact on the patient’s outcomes. ... Evaluation I believe that we made the right decision about respecting the patient’s autonomy and not administering the blood transfusion. I believe that we also made the right decision in terms of not allowing the patient’s relatives to overall the patient’s personal choice. However, what was bad about the experience was the nurse making a comment about the family not needing to make a fuss about the patient’s decision because the patient was old and would not have much longer to live anyway. Analysis First and foremost, informed consent is one of the most important elements of the health care practice. The Nursing and Midwifery Code (NMC, 2004, p. 5) specifies that a nurse must first obtain the informed consent of the patient before any treatment of intervention is administered. By informed consent, the need to properly inform the patient about his condition is important and the nurse must reveal to the patient all the necessary information, risks, implic ations, and processes involved in the intervention or procedure. The nurse is also required to respect the patient’s needs and wishes, especially the wishes of those who refuse or who are unable to receive data about their condition (NMC, 2004, p. 5). The information transmitted must also be accurate and truthful and presented in a manner which the patient can fully understand. The patient’s autonomy must be respected, even if their refusal for treatment would result in their death or even when their decisions would seem unreasonable or even illogical (NMC, 2004, p. 6). In gaining an informed consent, the nurse must ensure that such consent is given by a legally competent individual, is given voluntarily, and such consent is fully informed. All

Beo-Gramscian Approaches and Marxist Thinking on International Essay

Beo-Gramscian Approaches and Marxist Thinking on International Relations - Essay Example Gramsci who was a leader of Italian Communist party in the fascist era did not ever write much directly on international relations. Gramaci did not see state merely as the government since its functioning is effectively constrained by the hegemony of the dominant capitalist class. Along with the government, he saw the role of "the church, the educational system, the press, all the institutions which helped to create in people certain modes of behaviour and expectations consistent with the hegemonic social order" (Cox, 1993, p.51). In brief, he clearly saw that "the hegemony of a dominant class thus bridged the conventional categories of state and civil society, categories which retained a certain analytical usefulness but ceased to correspond to separable entities in reality" (Cox, 1993, p.51). Gramsci's delineation of the concept 'passive revolution' is particularly useful in characterising the social formations in most of the third world countries since they are "caught up in a dia lectic of revolution-restoration which tended to become blocked as neither the new forces nor the old could triumph" (Cox, 1993, p.54). It means that since there is enormous pressure from the advance countries, the third world countries cannot remain stagnant although these societies are characterised by the dominance of old forces such as feudal and conservative forces. The crucial fact is that the industrial bourgeoisie in these countries cannot rule the society without allying with the reactionary forces. "Most of Gramsci's substantive work focused upon the analysis of national social formations in particular historic periods, particularly Italy" (Gill, 1993, p.3). Gramsci is significant in breaking the mould of orthodoxy in both Marxist theory and practice. Gramsci's ideas are so vital to develop a comprehensive understanding of the state- civil society relationships only in the West but also the rest of the world. Gramsci considered political economy as just the anatomy of civil society. Gramsci's works raise a number of critical questions on the nature of culture, the state, ideology, hegemony and civil society in advanced capitalist societies. It does not mean that his ideas have limited relevance to the non-Western contexts, rather denotes the particular milieu of his scholarship.In the realm of International Relations and International Political Economy, Gramsci's ideas are much used in understanding "the internationalisation of state and civil society, the international aspect s of social hegemony and supremacy, and the transnational class and bloc formations and economic forces, the role of organic intellectuals and of international organisations and other issues which help to define the nature of global politics in twentieth century" (Gill, 1993, p.4). There is dialectical relationship between the integration and disintegration of the world order, mainly due to the crises faces by the global system and the measures taken to overcome them. On the contrary, neo-realists presuppose that the international