Prior to completing this discussion, please read the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct  (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.(2010) and Fact Sheet on End-of-Life Care (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (2014), as well as the Block, et al. (2006), Kwak, & Haley (2005), and Torbic (2011) articles required for this week.

You are working at an area hospital dealing primarily with end-of-life decisions and palliative care. For this discussion, you will be reviewing the PSY605 End-of-Life Case Scenarios document and making recommendations based on the information provided in the scenarios.

All end-of-life choices and medical decisions have complex psychosocial components, ramifications, and consequences that have a significant impact on suffering and the quality of living and dying. The issues involved in this process of decision making are based on issues of developmental stage, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, health, family, and physical, cognitive, and psychosocial states. For your initial post, you will apply concepts from developmental psychology to create your recommended courses of action for either Roger or Geri.

To begin, carefully review the PSY605 End-of-Life Case Scenarios document, select one of the cases, then create a recommended course of action for the scenario selected by addressing the following questions:

• What is the best recommended course of action for the client at this time, and why?
• What potential effects would themes such as the client’s culture, ethnicity, family, education, and gender have on the situation and recommendation(s)?
• How does the client’s developmental stage factor into your recommendation?
• How do the client’s physical, cognitive, and psychosocial states affect your recommendation(s)?
• How might the developmental stage(s) of the client’s family member(s) affect your recommendation?
• How will you present your recommendation(s) to both the patient and family member(s)?
  • What consideration(s) would affect your manner of presentation?
• Are there considerations that cannot be processed at this time because of lack of information in the written scenario?

Next, analyze and comment on the ethical considerations related to the scenario. Note how the APA’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. might provide guidance.

Remember to evaluate the unique scholarly perspectives presented in your reading to support your recommended course of action and analysis of ethical considerations.

Additional reading resources

Kwak, J., & Haley, W. E. (2005). Current research findings on end-of-life decision making among racially or ethnically diverse groups (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. The Gerontologist, 45(5), 634-41. Retrieved from http://gerontologist.oxfordjournals.org/content/45/5/634.long

Torbic, H. (2011). Children and grief: But what about the children? (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Home Healthcare Nurse, 29(2), 67-77. Retrieved from http://journals.lww.com/homehealthcarenurseonline/Fulltext/2011/02000/Children_and_Grief__But_What_About_the_Children_.4.aspx

Block, S. D., Arnold, R. M., & Liao, S. (2006). Psychological issues in end-of-life care. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 9(3), 751-772.