Dental Assistant Ethics Case Study

Jerry has been trained as a medical assistant and well as LPN or licensed practical nurse. Having an occupation as being a medical assistant is regulated loosely in the U.S. In addition, many states lack medical assistant certification and training requirements. It may be surprising that licensing for medical assistants does not exist. Despite inconsistent regulation, every state mandates by law that whenever a medical assistant provides any type of direct patient care, the supervising physician or licensed health care professional must be physically present in the office or building (medicalassistant.net website, 2012). Another law that is consistent in every state is one that prohibits medical assistants from independently prescribing or refilling medications (medicalassistant.net website, 2012). Licensed Practical Nurses have a broader scope of practice than medical assistants do, but prescribing or refilling medications is not included. In this case study, only Dr. Williams is able to refill the medication. If Jerry decides to call in a refill he will be practicing outside of his professional scope and breaking state law.

The dental hygienist is expected to respect the diverse values, beliefs, and cultures present in individuals and communities. When providing dental hygiene care, dental hygienists must support the right of the individual to have access to the necessary information and provide opportunities for dialogue to allow the individual patient to make informed care decisions without coercion (ADHA Policy Manual, 2016.) It is important for the oral health care provider to focus on the needs of the patient versus their own needs or those of the practice. It is also important that every patient be treated with the upmost respect regardless of race, color, age, gender, ethnicity, social class, disability or oral conditions. The patient must also be respectful towards the provider and dental team and what they are doing to improve the patient’s oral health. This balance allows the patient and provider to both be

I observed a second year student in the dental clinic who was incredibly enthusiastic, genuine, cheerful, and helpful, and her personality would fit perfectly into what I consider the typical dental hygienist. She seemed very well prepared and confident in her ability to treat her patient. A dynamic conversation was held throughout the appointment with her easygoing and cooperative patient. Besides the appropriate clock and chair positions, I was not aware of many proper techniques when I observed at the beginning of the semester. I noticed the student kept the patient chair in the same position for treating the maxillary and mandibular teeth. I observed her for the full four hours including the preparation before her patient arrived until

There are numerous ethical issues that a medical assistant may encounter in a daily office or hospital setting. It is unethical to have a conversation with a fellow coworker regarding a patient. The patient may overhear or worse they may be related to someone in the office. It is no one’s business as to why the patient had an appointment. Another unethical behavior that is unacceptable is foul language in front of the patients. They do not need to hear that kind of language under any circumstances. When a patient comes in to see you and smells of urine or alcohol, be courteous to the patient and do not judge the patient. This patient may not have the means to shower daily or they may be sick and are unaware of the odor. A good

There’s also non-maleficence, which basically means, ‘Do no harm’. The physician assistant must aim at producing a net benefit over harm. 6 If Sally decides not to treat the abusive patient, which is simply abandoning the patient, then she is doing harm. Ignoring the patient’s needs is an act of negligence, which will probably cause the patient’s condition to worsen. Sally must act accordingly with the Deontological view 7, which requires her to do her duty as a medical provider to treat the patient no matter what he does. This requires Sally to show the virtue of compassion as she is trying to provide care even to the most abusive, noncompliant, dishonest patients. This act will also satisfy some of the competencies a physician assistant must uphold: Commitment, dedication and self-regulation.

A nurse is given an opportunity to help patients, either if its by helping them through a very serious sickness or just helping a patient get to the bathroom on time, or a time when happiness is overfilling the room and a child is being born. Registered nurses provide a wide variety of patient care services (Mitchell, p.12). A Nurse must always know where to begin and where to stop, as any other career in the health field there is always something that cannot be done by everyone but only the certified person, a nurse must always remain inside her scope of practice to prevent any misunderstandings. A nurse must also follow a code of ethics , the code of ethics of the American Association of Medical Assistants states that a nurse should at all times render service with full respect and dignity of humanity, respect confidential information obtained by a patients file, uphold the honor and high principles the profession and accept its discipline, and last but not least always want to improve her services to better serve the health and well being of the community. (Mitchell, p.65).

Rannazzisi, J. T. (2010). Role of Authorized Agents in Communicating Controlled Substance . Retrieved from http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-10-06/html/2010-25136.htm

As dental hygienists, we will see a variety of patients in our dental office. Each patient will present with a unique medical history. It is essential to know how to treat our patients to the best of our ability, so that they are comfortable and cared for throughout the entire treatment process. They might have a certain disability, disorder, or disease that may alter or affect how we treat them.

After choosing to help my co-worker, to ensure that the client was kept clean and comfortable, I felt that this was my main priority in this situation. As an accountable Healthcare worker it sates within my code of conduct. That I have to make sure that I give care to all clients and treat every person as an individual, with dignity and respect at all times. However, I could still see, and understand why that staff nurse had to explain to me why I had to listen and take instruction.

Protecting the public trust is of paramount consideration and a standard of care in the field of dentistry, and of particular interest to policymakers, practitioners, and patients (Jacquot). When some caregivers violate this trust, a proactive holistic approach must be sourced in order to restore patient confidence by authorities and members of the field. As most ethics violations go undetected or unreported (attribution), employing protocols to promote oversight and transparency serve as a deterrent and enable patients to better understand expert recommendations, risks, costs, and options available for treatment. This reassurance of the public trust can help overcome distrust and insecurity deriving from ethics violations by dental practitioners.

In this case scenario I would do my job and give them out to the families that have a limited income and cannot afford them. If one sees that they are coming to the expiration date soon then I would believe that it is okay to take them home then, but these samples are for those less fortunate. It is ethically correct to not take the samples home unless they are about to expire and be wasted, but only then. Legally it is not yours to take home it is for the patients.

Healthcare professionals will be faced with ethical dilemmas throughout their career, particularly in the hospital environment. Having an education regarding professional healthcare ethics will provide some direction in how to best address these dilemmas at a time when either the patient or their family is in need of making decisions for themselves or their family member. It can be difficult for healthcare professionals to weigh professional protocol against their own personal beliefs and ethical understandings when determining critical care for their patient.

Dentists, also face a number of ethical issues related to the treatment of their patients. Some issues are clearly medical, involving the treatment of the patient. Other issues are related to the management of a dentist’s practice, such as employment, corporate sponsorship and advertising.

Everyday, healthcare professionals are faced with ethical dilemmas in their workplace. These ethical dilemmas need to be addressed in order to provide the best care for the patient. Healthcare professionals have to weigh their own personal beliefs, professional beliefs, ethical understandings, and several other factors to decide what the best care for their patient might be. This is illustrated in Mrs. Smith’s case. Mrs. Smith is an 85 year old who has suffered from a large stroke that extends to both of her brains hemispheres which has left her unconscious. She only has some brain stem reflexes and requires a ventilator for support. She is unable to communicate how she wishes to proceed with her healthcare. Mrs. Smith’s children, Sara and Frank have different views regarding their mother’s plan of care. The decision that needs to be made is whether to prolong Mrs. Smith’s life, as Sara would like to do, or stop all treatments and care, as Frank feels his mother would want. In the healthcare field, there are situations similar to this case that happen daily where moral and ethical judgment is necessary to guide the decision that would be best for the patient. The purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss, compare and contrast the personal and professional values, ethical principles, and legal issues regarding Mrs. Smith’s quality of life and further plan of care.

The general awareness among patients on their rights during a medical procedure often conflict with the morals of the healthcare industry. Many times healthcare professionals are caught between