You work on a medical/surgical floor at a county medical center. There is a patient
on your floor who had a stroke, and his wife is his power of attorney. The patient's
stroke was mild and his cognitive functions were not affected by the stroke (he is
oriented times 3). He has been on the unit for 3 weeks. Early in his hospitalization
his hemoglobin was found to be 6.0g. The patient's wife is a Jehovah's Witness;
however, the patient is not. The patient's wife is the strong hand in their
relationship. She insisted that the patient should not receive blood products. The
patient is on the fence with the decision to receive blood products. His wife would
not allow the doctors to speak with him without her being present. The patient is
not opposed to his wife being continuously present. The patient's well-being is in
danger because his hemoglobin continues to drop, and the iron tablets and other
treatments are not much of a benefit. Use the resolvedd method to decide how
the medical staff should treat this patient. For your principle/value step at
minimum use the following if appropriate: justice, autonomy, beneficence, non-
maleficence, and utility.
