Question
Mr. Paul, age 62, is admitted to the hospital for acute abdominal pain with vomiting of coffee-ground material. He has a long history of alcoholism and uncontrolled diabetes, and has a left below the knee amputation. Four months ago, his wife died after 40 years of marriage.
Mr. Paul states this was the reason he stopped taking care of himself and began drinking heavily again. According to the nurse providing end-of-shift report, he asks for pain medications more frequently than other patients with this condition. Because you have provided care for Mr.
Paul on several other occasions, you know he often requires a higher dose of analgesia and you are responsive to his suffering by contacting the physician for a change in the order. The physician is hesitant to increase the dose of morphine and, in order to avoid causing harm to the patient, the nurse advocates for Mr. Paul by engaging in conflict resolution with the physician. The result was an increase in the morphine dose.
Applying the Ethics of Caring to Practice, Tronto (1993) suggested that there is a pre-existing moral relationship between people. The elements of care are considered the fundamentals necessary in order to demonstrate caring.
A. Using Tronto’s four phases of caring how can you as a nurse manager meet your caring responsibilities for Mr. Paul in the case scenario?
B. Describe in your own words the four elements of caring.
