Personal Beliefs vs Professional Responsibility

A 45-year-old mature student nurse is in his last year of training. His friend has had human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection for many years. He is now in the terminal stages of the disease and is in constant pain and suffering. Both have been friends for a long time and this student nurse has always said that he would be there to support his friend.  This friend now asks him to travel with him to Dignitas in Switzerland so that he can be assisted to end his life. The student nurse wants to be there for his friend. Personally, he does not have any ethical quandaries about whether he should prevent his friend from making a decision to seek assistance to end his own life. However, he is worried that he now has professional responsibilities and duties, which would be compromised by traveling to Switzerland with his friend.

• To what extent must duties be followed irrespective of the consequences?
• Is it morally acceptable for the student nurse to take his friend to Dignitas?

Apply Theory (Specific Professional Healthcare Competencies + Clinical Medical Ethical Principles) to Practice in order to provide Optimal Patient-Centered Care (OPCC)

Clinical Ethics and Law, Second edition. Carolyn Johnston, Penelope Bradbury, Series editor: Janice Ryme