Exploring the Ethical Challenges Faced by Nurses in End-of-Life Care Decision-Making Processes

Posted: Aug 14, 2020

• Anthony Parker
• Ariana Cooper
• Arthur Simmons

Abstract

End-of-life care represents one of the most ethically complex domains in contemporary healthcare practice, particularly for nurses who occupy a unique position at the intersection of patient care, family dynamics, and medical decision-making. The ethical challenges nurses face in this context extend beyond conventional biomedical ethics into realms of existential meaning, cultural diversity, and professional identity. While substantial research exists on physician perspectives in end-of-life decision-making, the distinctive ethical landscape navigated by nurses remains underexplored in its full complexity. This study addresses this gap by examining the multifaceted ethical challenges that emerge for nurses during terminal care processes. The significance of this research lies in its focus on nurses as active moral agents rather than passive implementers of decisions made by other healthcare professionals. Nurses typically spend more direct time with dying patients and their families than any other healthcare providers, positioning them to witness the subtle ethical nuances that may escape broader medical decision-making frameworks. The ethical dimensions of end-of-life care have become increasingly prominent as medical technology extends the dying process, creating new moral dilemmas about quality versus quantity of life, patient autonomy, and appropriate resource allocation. This paper presents findings from a qualitative investigation into the lived experiences of nurses grappling with ethical challenges in end-of-life settings.