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The practice of health care providers at all levels brings you into contact with people from a variety of faiths. This calls for knowledge and understanding of a diversity of faith expressions; for the purpose of this course, the focus will be on the Christian worldview.

Based on “Case Study: End of Life Decisions,” the Christian worldview, and the worldview questions presented in the required topic study materials you will complete an ethical analysis of George’s situation and his decision from the perspective of the Christian worldview.

Provide a 1,500-2,000-word ethical analysis while answering the following questions:

1. How would George interpret his suffering in light of the Christian narrative, with an emphasis on the fallenness of the world?
2. How would George interpret his suffering in light of the Christian narrative, with an emphasis on the hope of resurrection?
3. As George contemplates life with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), how would the Christian worldview inform his view about the value of his life as a person?
4. What sorts of values and considerations would the Christian worldview focus on in deliberating about whether or not George should opt for euthanasia?
5. Given the above, what options would be morally justified in the Christian worldview for George and why?
6. Based on your worldview, what decision would you make if you were in George’s situation?

Remember to support your responses with the topic study materials.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is required.

Mrs J., a 75-year-old widow, was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) after heart surgery. Before the surgery, she hd been active in her community and enjoyed canning, quilting, and helping her elderly friends. Her greatest fear about surgery was that she might have a stroke, and she asked her daughter, Grace, who was the designated decision maker on Mrs J.’s advance directive, to promise that if something happened to prevent Mrs J. from returning to her independent lifestyle, Grace would make sure that life-prolonging treatment was not continued.

Initially, Mrs J. did well after surgery, but she had a debilitating brain stem stroke several days later and required intubation, mechanical ventilation, and tube feedings. Grace, being very clear about her mother’s wishes, asked the physicians to stop the mechanical ventilation and the tube feedings. Three physicians were involved in Mrs J.’s care. Because of philosophical differences related to their specialties, they could not agree on a decision to discontinue treatment, despite repeated requests from Grace. Grace began to feel angry, and nurses caring for Mrs J. felt torn and frustrated.

Scenarios such as this are not uncommon in ICUs and require that those caring for patients in the unit be proficient not only in saving lives but also in providing expert care at the end of life. In this article, I focus on one aspect of end-of-life care in the ICU, namely, end-of-life decision making. On the basis of recent research in nursing, medicine, and social sciences, I describe end-of-life decision making in the ICU and suggest strategies for improving the process for healthcare providers as well as patients and patients’ families.