“Mrs. G., a 96-year-old woman, is comatose due to a head injury.

“Mrs. G., a 96-year-old woman, is comatose due to a head injury from an automobile accident in which she was the driver. Before the accident, she lived independently and volunteered at the library teaching adults to read. Mrs. G has been unresponsive and ventilator-dependent for 3 days. She has shown no improvement, but her son is insisting on a tracheotomy so that his mother can be maintained on the ventilator until she regains consciousness.”

Answer the following questions in your discussion post:

1. How should th nurse respond to the ethical dilemma presented in the case of Mrs. G.?

2. What ethical principles should be applied in this case?

3. What roadblocks might the nurse encounter in providing the best care for Mrs. G.?

4. When faced with an ethical dilemma, what key steps need to be considered for an effective analysis?