Assignment task:
Answer the questions below after reading the case:
A 75 year old client is on hospice secondary to terminal head and neck cancer and is in extreme pain. You are a hospice nurse, visiting the client at home. The client lives alone and is grieving the loss of his wife one year ago. The client expresses hopelessness and helplessness to you and appears to be in despair about the continued anguish and lack of relief. The client asks you to leave enough narcotic pain medication to allow a self-administration of a lethal dose. The client is alert and has contemplated this choice.
1. How would a nurse respond?
2. What are the actual and potential legal issues?
3. What are the actual and potential impacts on ethically?
4. What should a nurse do, considering this information?