Reference no: EM132198583

Question: Overview: Write an article for a community newsletter for a local retirement village that explains the laws, policies, and choices surrounding end-of-life health care decisions.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

1. Competency 1: Explain the effect of health care policies, legislation, and legal issues on health care delivery and patient outcomes.

• Identify the primary policies that define current health care practices in regard to end-of-life health care decisions.

• Explain the legislation that generated end-of-life health care policies.

2. Competency 2: Explain the effect of regulatory environments and controls on health care delivery and patient outcomes.

• Explain the effect of end-of-life regulations and controls on patient outcomes.

3. Competency 3: Apply professional nursing ethical standards and principles to the decision-making process.

• Describe the role of the nurse in end-of-life decision making with patients and their families.

• Describe the ethical considerations that have influenced policy decisions in regard to end-of-life decisions.

4. Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is consistent with expectations of nursing professionals.

• Write content clearly and logically, with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.

• Correctly format citations and references using APA style.

Context: Nurses are at the bedside during the dying process; they spend entire shifts with patients and families; they develop trusting relationships; and they are competent to assess patient and family needs. Nurses gain a unique perspective that allows them to become aware when a patient is not responding to treatment. This perspective places nurses in a position to facilitate end-of-life decision making. (Adams, Bailey. Anderson, & Docherty, 2011, para. 4)

Questions to consider

To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community.

• How should nurses manage patients whose end-of-life decisions may run contrary to their personal beliefs and values?

• How can nurses influence new policies, laws, or legislation regarding end-of life decisions?

• What are some of the most difficult decisions patients and families have to make at the end of the patient's life?

Assessment instructions: Your manager asked you to prepare an article for a community newsletter for a local retirement village. The editor wants you to talk about the laws, policies, and choices surrounding end-of-life health care decisions

Preparation: Search the Capella library and the Internet for scholarly and professional peer-reviewed articles on end-of-life care. You will need at least three articles to use as support for your work on this assessment.

Directions: Write an article of 750-1,000 words (3-4 pages) that discusses the laws, policies, and choices surrounding end-of-life health care decisions. Address the following in your article:

• Describe the role of the nurse in end-of-life decision making with patients and their families.

• Explain the legislation that generated end-of-life health care policies. Was the legislation an outcome of a specific medical case?

• Identify the primary policies regarding current health care practices related to end-of-life health care decisions. How to these policies affect treatment decisions?

• Explain the effect of end-of-life regulations and controls on patient outcomes. What effect does this have on the nurse-patient relationship?

• Describe the ethical considerations that have influenced policy decisions in regard to end-of-life decisions.

Additional Requirements: Your article should meet the following requirements:

• Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.

• References: Cite a minimum of three resources; a majority of these should be peer-reviewed sources. Your reference list should be appropriate to the body of literature available on this topic that has been published in the past 5 years.

• APA format: Resources and citations should be formatted according to current APA style and formatting.

• Length: 750-1,000 words or 3-4 typed, double-spaced pages, excluding title page and reference page. Use Microsoft Word to complete the assessment.

• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12-point.