You are caring for a 17-year-old female African American patientwith sickle cell disease who has been admitted for treatment ofsickle cell crisis. Sickle cell disease is a genetic abnormalitythat affects hemoglobin in the red blood cells. The defect is foundprimarily in African Americans. In a sickle cell crisis weakenedred blood cells clump together and impede blood flow, causingextreme pain. To prevent stroke and manage pain of the crisis, yourpatient needs aggressive fluid and comfort management. Even thoughshe is receiving pain medication around the clock, she continues toreport acute pain, a level of 10 on a scale of 0-10. In herdistress, she complains about almost everything: her roommate, thefood and even the intravenous line that delivers the fluids andpain medications. Her home is far from the hospital, and neitherher parents nor her friends are able to visit. She has an olderbrother who has been convicted of possession of illegal drugs.
1.Examine and describe your values and opinions about pain, painmanagement, and addiction. (5 points)
2.Describe any ethical concerns you might have about this patient’sautonomy (5 points).
3.How can you apply the principals of beneficence and fidelity inthis situation? What about nonmaleficence? (5 points)
