As an employee in the healthcare industry, you may be faced with legal and ethical dilemmas. Sometimes laws may put the healthcare worker in a position that may be unethical to perform, in their eyes. There are certain laws that are passed to protect the health care worker as well as the patients. Each healthcare worker must know their rights and responsibilities to the patient and patients must know their rights in accessing the appropriate treatment. I will discuss a few legal and ethical issues regarding the laws concerning conscience clause, respondeat superior, and scope of practice. In 1973, the case of Roe v. Wade took place. Abortion issues were discussed during this time and it was determined by the Supreme Court that the idea of conscience clause be initiated (Berlinger, 2008). Conscience clause legislation provides legal protection for health care workers that choose not to participate in treatment of care, if it violates their moral or religious belief (Berlinger, 2008). Beliefs on abortions, is an example of how the conscience clause legislation may cause a dilemma. The physician does not believe in abortions and during a routine visit the doctor discovered that the patient is experiencing an ectopic pregnancy. Although the patient is currently asymptomatic, the physician understands that this puts the patient’s health at risk. What would the physician do to handle the situation? Under the conscience clause law, this physician would be protected, as performing an abortion goes against their religious or ethical beliefs. The physician would have to consider that although this goes against their beliefs, the patient’s health is at risk and subsequently cause an ethical dilemma. From the patient’s view, this law may be intrusive and violate their constitutional right of choice (Berlinger, 2008). Each worker within the health industry are trained to know basic information regarding the specialty in which they practice in. When practicing, it is imperative to understand what is legally within your scope of practice, so appropriate care can be provided to the patient. “Scope of practice refers to the activities a health care professional is allowed to perform as indicated in their licensure,
A philosophy of an organization helps differentiate themselves from their competitors and set a foundation for future success. It also helps shape an organization by presenting the goals they want to accomplish with specific activities. To improve this, many organizations understand the important of sharing values and goals and realize employee recognition. This helps staff from moving forward toward success of the organizations. Chapter 4 introduces “Codes of Ethics in Health Services.” Code of ethics is a guideline for healthcare professionals to accomplish and serve as a member of a society. Similar to other professions, managers have their own code of ethics in maintaining their duties and responsibilities. They also use the codes for ethical decision-making in dealing with ethical issues. Chapter 5 deals with “Organizational Responses to Ethical Issues.” It provides assistance for managers and organizations in their decision making. It is manager’s duty to figure out the problem and resolve it (Darr, 2011,
Running a business in multicultural Ireland requires a company to address the issues that diversity and multiculturalism can bring. A company like Highfield Healthcare would have to look closely at best practices in the area of cultural diversity and multiculturalism. Highfield would have to look at how employee’s best work with persons of different cultural and ethnic background. A person’s culture affects decisions concerning end of life care, diet, treatment and recreational activities. These issues will change how Highfield Healthcare runs their business. Below are some examples.
(1.1) In the healthcare profession various dilemmas can be encountered, sometimes everyday that put a professional in a position where they must make certain choices that can be classified as difficult or complicated depending on the individual or the situation. In the nursing profession not only do they have to consider the welfare of the patients but they also have to regard their wishes, which may create a conflict of interests in regards to promotion of well-being which would lead to the importance of informed consent. Respect for a person 's autonomy as well as respect for the individual are essential requirements; however so is promoting public interest.
Nurses are constantly challenged by changes which occur in their practice environment and are under the influence of internal or external factors. Due to the increased complexity of the health system, nowadays nurses are faced with ethical and legal decisions and often come across dilemmas regarding patient care. From this perspective a good question to be raised would be whether or not nurses have the necessary background, knowledge and skills to make appropriate legal and ethical decisions. Even though most nursing programs cover the ethical and moral issues in health care, it is questionable if new nurses have the depth of knowledge and understanding of these issues and apply them in their practice
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.
The ethical challenges that arise for the standards of care in a healthcare setting include concerns about the choices and care experiences of residents, involvement of families, and other staff members with the healthcare facility laws and policies. Healthcare workforce must be capable of understanding ethical behavior and potential enough to identify the ethical problems in order to contend with the potential risks involved while providing care
The abortion debate in America has far surpassed the 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion. The controversy continues to encompass ethical questions such as when human life begins, what constitutes the value of human life, whether restricting or outlawing abortion infringes upon women’s rights, and more. Politics, religious beliefs, and moral philosophy are often factors that contribute to the arguments of many vehement pro-life and pro-choice advocates. Though the medical community strives to respect the beliefs of patients, such subjective principles cannot be utilized to formulate and impose a nation-wide standard regarding abortion. The popular notion that the ethicality of abortion is an issue with no plausible universal answer
This scenario involves multiple ethical issue that is very difficult to be addressed by the health care providers. Since our ultimate goal is to provide optimal care to the patient. Moreover, we care about the entire family dynamic and wellbeing at the same time. I believe it is critical for health care provider to provide a balance between the mother wishes and prioritize the patient best interest by preventing unnecessary harmful procedures. I believe the compromise solution that was reach by the health care provider and the family to have an early Christmas was a great mutual goal. It will facilitate the family coping process and at the same time preserve the patient dignity and comfort.
29. In your opinion what responsibilities, if any, does a physician or other health care practitioner have toward difficult family members or other third parties who interfere with a patient’s medical care?
Although health care in the United States is considered to be one of the top ranking medical services, it is however becoming inadequate due to one fatal flaw: money (Vaughn 692). It is well known that a person admitted to the hospital, also admits their wallet, as the costs of certain procedures can be quite draining. However this is reality. There is no such thing as a health care system which “can provide maximum healthcare for everyone” (Vaughn 681). Therefore doctors must decide what is ethical and what is immoral when “costs restrict how much health care can be delivered” (Vaughn 681), to certain patients. This is the question in which Dr. Oz must ask himself as he is informed that his patient cannot afford a particular treatment; a
Often, we encounter conflicting values when we discus ethical, legal and regulatory conflicts within a healthcare facility. Because of a possible problem or danger to a patient, the healthcare facility often look to governmental/legal solutions to create a fix for this problem. However, in order to fully implement these solutions, there are certain regulations that needs to be followed. These solutions can also be unethical which leads to the patient autonomy and freedom being negatively impacted.
Ethics in Health Services Management magnificent custom by (Kurt Darr) often doctors refuse to treat patients without a consent from family , friend, surrogate or legal guardian .Volunteering can become very difficult an assault, and sometimes careless. Consent cannot give verbal is illegal, Consent must be a voluntary counterpart informed and want that to treat in emergency situation it can be very difficult to give consent. Consent and Ethics: Ethics can be a difficult and frustrating process for both the patient and the association responsible for obtaining consent is depending on the ways. The responsibilities delegated to employees
The solution needed for this scenario is both ethical and practical. Is there any improvement that can be done to prevent a scenario in the solution? Of course. The weaknesses that might be found in the solution is even though the caregivers communicate, they are not communicating concise, accurate information to the staff as a whole, but simply telling one staff member and expecting that staff member to pass the information along the same way it was received could be miscommunicated to the rest of the staff. It is possible the health record could be annotated incorrectly causing the possible misdiagnosis, which would cause unnecessary harm to the patient by prescribing the wrong medications, an overdosing or even worse, death.
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 health care industry continually deals with the lives of individuals and is bound by the ethical and legal aspects that influence decisions of health care professionals in their clinical practice. This essay aims to discuss the various issues and ethical dilemmas that arise with regards to the consent of consumers. In the attempt to explore these points, different literatures are used to shed light on this topic. This paper begins by defining what consent is and the role of nurses or the health care team in being an advocate of the patient when requiring consent. It moves on with the discussion of ethical frameworks, which are recognized nationally and internationally, as these carry significant influences in health care decision-making. The essay also brings out the essence of ethical theories and its relevance to consent giving. It then tackles the similarities and differences of the Code of Ethics and ethical guidelines relevant to both nursing and midwives as both professions work closely in the care of mothers, children and families. Issues and views from experienced professionals in these fields are presented and critically compared. It then considers both ethical and legal aspects, which seeks arguments and rational implications. The last topic points to the social and spiritual factors pertinent to consent that impact the society particularly on the care of patients and concludes by summarising discussed points and arguments about consent.