Ethical Dilemmas in Healthcare

When looking at ethical dilemmas in human services one must be able identify and address the dilemma properly. Within the module for this week I am to evaluate three different dilemma scenarios and describe how I would approach each. In addition, I will be identifying what steps in the evaluation process I have used to make my decision on each ethical dilemma.

The healthcare system is faced with many ethical dilemmas on a daily basis. There are basic principles in health care that every health care worker should practice to ensure safety and to protect the rights of others. This begins with confidentiality. Providing patient privacy and confidentiality are essential to promoting a bond between patients and his or her practitioners as well as preserving the patient’s dignity (Edge & Grove, 2007). Under some circumstances, patient’s personal information is retrieved without their consent. While some may view this as not an issue, others lose trust in the people they look toward to care for them in critical times, and this can lead to legality troubles.

Healthcare management usually involves a wide range of activities. It in loves planning, administration, regulations and legislation all aimed at enhancing the quality of the system for the benefit of the patient and the medics. Planning is important as it provides efficient health care to all who are seeking medical intervention. However, planning should not be used as an intimidating tool denying the individual his or healthcare unless such intervention is necessary to the public health interest (Brody 2010). This has been none of the ethical issues surrounding the healthcare system. There has been a debate on what entails patient autonomy and the extent to which the healthcare team should participate in decision

While visiting my mother in the hospital this past weekend, I was a witness to an event that was quite unsettling. A homeless gentleman, who looked to be about 35 years old, was asked to pay $150 upfront for medical services due to his lack of insurance. The man informed the medical assistant that he was homeless and did not have the funds, to which the assistant responded that no services would be rendered without pay and turned the man away. The man stated that he was experiencing continuous chest pains, which could be an early symptom of a more serious condition. However due to his lack of funds and the fact that he was uninsured he was not permitted to be seen by the doctor.

The ethical dilemma I encountered at my placement involves a male in his late-sixties, who has recently suffered a stroke. Mr. A’s situation is unique as he has been unable to speak and his cognitive abilities have declined since. The Fraser Health agency protocol is to contact the patient’s family to determine who would be the temporary substitute decision makers (“Information for temporary substitute,” 2015). The health care consent and care facility admission act describes how decisions are to be made if a patient is determined incapable (Nidus Personal Planning Resource Centre, 2012). The next steps required liaising with the home health team in the community to determine if Mr. A had ever listed any family members as his emergency contacts.

There is three possible solutions for this dilemma that are all viable. All are ethical and are ways to solve the dilemma, but they all result in different outcomes that would completely change the case. This creates a dilemma for the doctor "When a patient, or surrogate(s) acting on behalf of a patient, refuses recommended treatment, a dilemma can be created for health care professionals" (Policy, n.d.). Each case regarding patient refusal should be treated according to the case "Each instance of treatment refusal should be considered individually to determine the response of health care professionals" (Policy, n.d.) The first solution would go against the patients wishes to inject him with the serum but would agree with the principles of

Last week I had the opportunity to talk to Mr. R who was brought in to the hospital due to a workplace injury. The referral was put through by the attending physician indicating that there was concerns of substance use. I started the conversation by introducing my role as a hospital social worker and tried to build report by asking Mr. R how he was managing at the hospital. Being transparent is important and explaining the reason for the visit helps in creating trust for the therapeutic intervention. I probed Mr. R about his alcohol use and if he identified that as being an issue for him. Mr. R indicated that he has been using alcohol for over a long period and reports this as a part of his daily social life, which makes it hard for abstinence.

Ethics is relevant to the field of healthcare just as it is to other professional disciplines. Contentious issues such as euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, the body as a commodity, whether pedophiles should be punished or treated, and the brain death controversy call for high levels of soberness in professional judgement. According to Ekland-Olson, the sociological and clinical process is crucial in devising a moral ground for decision-making (111). The historical and medical perspectives of these issues can assist in shaping ethical decision-making. Healthcare practitioners are continually facing ethical dilemmas concerning a broad set of issues that arise in the clinical setting. For this reason, it is essential for them to define their set of moral beliefs that could enable them to know when and how to change their positions whenever they encounter tough dilemmas. Defining a set of beliefs requires viewing controversial issues from a variety of perspectives (Ekland-Olson 116). The paper seeks to deliberate the controversy surrounding pedophilia; in other words, whether the issues should be considered as a punishment for crime or treated as a psychological problem. Finally, the paper elucidates on ethical and social issues concerning the brain death, the body as a commodity, euthanasia, and physician-assisted death. Ethics forms a significant aspect of healthcare service delivery because health specialists are always making life-threatening decisions in

After reading chapter 2, I learned that healthcare professionals need to be prepared and aware of the dilemmas that their career involve. One broad ethical and moral dilemma is abortion. This dilemma is very controversial because it’s discussed legally and religiously. There are pro-life supporters who claim that it is against religion to kill someone and believe that a fetus has a right to life, while pro-choice supporters claim that woman should have the legal right to make decisions regrinding her body. I think that healthcare professionals should always respect patients’ decisions and that people should also need to respect healthcare professionals’ set of values and morals. For example, some healthcare providers do not perform abortions

Being a student and learning every subject in the Health care field has been quite an eye opener on what healthcare professionals have to face in their every day careers. Our quality of providing services has been drastically changing with technology advancements, new policies being implemented and stricter regulations. When it comes to medical ethics the patient always comes first. Many people have their own personal views on what is considered to be ethical or not. Being a physician and helping others whether they are ill, have been diagnosed with a disease, or just an injury, they must also have compassion, and show consideration to their patients. What if a patient is suffering a terminal illness and is ready to take their own life, but

Varying departments, universities, and private corporations have different ways in researching and determining the ethical components of their programming. These varying elements can influence communities in many different ways. When examining the values associated, and the public health considerations we must take into account the following values, as outlined by the University of Toronto.

There are more ethical issues in health care then you could imagine, I will introduce three of such issues here in this paper. For starters “Making Basic Health Care Accessible,” today in our society there are many Americans that still lack basic health care. Most travel miles to get proper care, and pay extra out-of-pocket to receive this care. Not only basic health care but durable medical equipment (DME) and radiologic testing.

Do health care workers have the right to conscientiously object to providing care if it varies from their own personal moral and ethical belief system?

Terminations have always been an ethical issue within healthcare as a lot of people feel that it is morally wrong to end a life and feel that terminating a pregnancy is morally wrong euthanasia of a child. However, there are lots of reasons why a woman would want to terminate, such as rape or unplanned pregnancy. This essay will look at the ethical issues from both sides of the argument as well as how this topic is linked to legislation within the UK.

McNamee, M., & Schramme, T. (2011, August). Moral Theory and Theorizing in Healthcare Ethics. Ethical Theory & Moral Practice. pp. 365-368. doi:10.1007/s10677-011-9291-x.