Hurricane Katrina

Based on the scenario, it is evident that the doctors and nurses were in a difficult situation
regarding the best action to meet the needs of the patients. The facility ran out of supplies and
power to operate medical equipment. As much as the facility had run out of all of the essential
materials, it was wrong for the doctors and nurses to kill patients with a lethal dosage. Notably,
the doctors and nurses failed to honor the patients’ feelings. It is the duty of health professionals
to provide care to patients even in difficult situations. The health specialists failed to listen to the
opinions of the patients about the administration of the lethal doses of medication, and this
vividly asserts that they were less compassionate with the patients.
Additionally, the health professionals killed the patients, which is wrong as they failed to
give them an opportunity to make their own medical decisions. It is vital to acknowledge that
patients have a right to make autonomous decisions about their treatment, which the doctors
denied them (Pesut et al., 2020). Remarkably, the doctors conducted euthanasia without seeking
the permission of the patients, which is against nursing ethics.
The health specialists murdered the patients because they did not uphold the dignity of
life. Precisely, life is sacred and is provided by the Almighty God, and only Him should take it
away. As much as health professionals have a responsibility to employ the best medical
interventions to improve patients’ quality of life, it is not for them to decide when a patient is to
die (Pesut et al., 2020). In the scenario, the doctors assumed they were reducing the pain and
suffering of the patients, but it turns out they violated several nursing principles.

3

Reference

Pesut, B., Greig, M., Thorne, S., Storch, J., Burgess, M., Tishelman, C., … & Janke, R. (2020).
Nursing and euthanasia: A narrative review of the nursing ethics literature. Nursing
ethics, 27(1), 152-167.