Ethical Principles : Informed Consent, Right Of Withdrawal, Confidentiality, And Protection From Harm

Even though codes of ethics are written down, they are not known as rules, but it is given to set the boundaries of what is and is not an acceptable way to conduct research

To ensure that a researcher’s enthusiasm for knowledge and understanding doesn’t let them get carried away, clear guidelines for ethical behaviour in research, a Code of Ethics, have been established by governments, institutions and various professional societies such as the American Psychological Association(APA), the British Psychological Society (BPS) and the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI).

Another issue with the implementation of Informed consent arises when the patient waives the right to Informed consent and leaves the right to make the decision on the physician. Though legally correct, this can cause psychological stress for the physician especially when the decision is about a life threatening medical condition. Moreover, this also makes the patient vulnerable to abuse. (Manthous, DeGirolamo, 2003)

Midwives have a responsibility towards the woman throughout her pregnancy journey by promoting normality whilst acting as her advocate and maintaining her autonomy. The woman throughout the pregnancy continuum will undoubtedly have expectations of receiving good care where her preferences and any concerns which may arise are dealt with in a professional manner. This essay aims to explore key areas of care such as communication, obtaining consent, maintaining autonomy and confidentiality. This will show how the midwife utilises their ethical and professional knowledge to inform their practice to meet such demands.

The U.S. Healthcare System continues to evolve and develop delivery strategies of affordable high-quality health services to all individuals. Striving to make available superior advances in U.S. health, healthcare providers delivery options, solutions and/or treatments for the American populace.

Informed consent, what is it and why do patients give it? Well, in the medical field a person must give informed consent before receiving treatment. But what does informed consent even mean? It can be hard to even understand what informed consent is and so this leads a person to wonder ethically if there might also be barriers that would prevent a person from giving informed consent. Could language be a barrier, for example can a medical professional “dumb” down a medical procedure enough for a high school dropout or for a child to understand the treatment being offered to them? While that might sound quite harsh the reality is that some medical patients are exactly that, high school dropouts or young children.

An informed consent is the sovereign act by the patient or a research subject to authorize a healthcare professional to perform a medical procedure. It means that patients must be briefed on all the goals of the procedure, the methods to be used by the physician and all the risks that they might be subjected to while undergoing therapies/treatments. De Bord (2014), defines informed consent as “Informed consent is the process by which the treating health care provider discloses appropriate information to a competent patient so that the patient may make a voluntary choice to accept or refuse treatment” (as cited in Appelbaum, 2007). In this paper, I will argue that Jay Katz’s claim for the lack of genuine informed consent in healthcare field is firm by demonstrating and buttressing his claim. I will also pinpoint how Jay Katz’s argument is consistent with the medical professionals’ code of ethics

The standard of care is the attention you would give to any one of your patients in similar situations. A patient’s best interest is the only one to be considered. An appropriate standard of care would be reached in this case study if you would treat her emergency situation as you would any other, regardless of circumstance and act on that accordingly. There should be no favoritism of judgment in your standard of care. (Caldwell & Connor, 2012, pg. 27).

The research ethics, especially with the human subjects, is a very complex topic, and the completion of the certification opened my eyes on many aspects of research process. I learned how important it is to fully understand the research purpose and the methodology especially when selecting participants. I learned which populations are considered vulnerable, how to balance risk and potential benefits of research, and the importance of obtaining an informed, voluntary consent. I learned how important it is for researchers to ensure subjects confidentiality and privacy. Hardicre (2014) said that the research would be impossible without volunteers, and that the researchers “must act as patient advocates to ensure that every stage of the research

Informed consent, by definition, requires the administering health care provider to disclose appropriate information to a competent patient, and allow that patient sufficient time to choose, voluntarily, whether to accept or refuse treatment (Appelbaum, 2007). For children, the law upholds an inability to provide their own informed consent as they lack the decisive ability inherent in consent (Appelbaum, 2007). Thereby, for children, a proxy, as determined by the state laws, chooses the course of treatment on their behalf (Appelbaum, 2007). Furthermore, for children of, an undesignated, reasonable age, a consultation about assent, or willingness for acceptance of treatment or care, should follow a guardian’s decision (Appelbaum, 2007). Responsibility

Informed consent is a formal agreement that a patient/member signs to give permission for a medical procedure or program after an explanation of risks and benefits are given to the patient/member (Merriam-Webster.com, 2015). Another definition for informed consent is, “tenet requiring that competent patients, who are free to consent, be sufficiently informed and be the principal decision makers in their own care” (Brannigan, 2001).

What are the roles of respect and dignity in the American Psychological Association Ethics Code?

There are three basic ethical principles that researchers should adhere while conducting research. The three

Fundamental to healthcare shared decision-making is the doctrine of informed consent. This shared decision-making is one of the most advocated methodologies in the healthcare treatment decision. Shared decision-making is a method in which the doctor communicates to his patient all the sufficient risk and benefit information on all types of medical treatments and alternative medical treatments. The patient then shares with his doctor all his personal information that might make a particular medical treatment (or a side-effect from it) more (or less) bearable than other medical treatments. Then, the doctor and his patient in tandem use all the information to arrive at a joint decision on the medical treatment. In order to be actively involved in their healthcare treatment decisions, patients must receive sufficient information from their doctors. In this particular role, doctors play the part of teachers or educators for their patients.

What are some bioethical challenges regarding the consent process for organ transplantation? Health care providers have a commitment to respecting a patient’s right to donate an organ and an obligation to ensure the patient provides informed and voluntary consent for the procedure. Does this consent process differ from the consent needed to provide health care to a patient in other situations? I will be doing a research on giving consent, in the medical profession there are many regulations and legal aspects when a patient gives consent for any type on service.