Medical Ethics Case Study Essay

I am a paramedic arriving at an emergency scene. A group of scouts have entered a cave that is now filling with water. They were led into the cave by a rather large scoutmaster. Unfortunately, while leading them out of the cave, the scoutmaster somehow managed to get stuck in a narrow opening with only his head and shoulders protruding out. With his upper torso stuck outside the cave, it appears the scoutmaster will survive, but all the boys below will drown if they cannot escape.

THE CASE OF MRS. STACK1Week 5 The Case of Mrs. StackDaniel J. HildebrandtMHE 607 – Practical Ethics in Health Care SettingsCreighton Graduate SchoolJuly 26, 2016

Health care ethics is not only limited to factors that directly give rise to ethical issues such as not respecting a patient’s autonomy, and the beliefs and values of persons directly affected by decisions on the treatment of a patient. Ethical dilemmas are also posed by factors considered as indirect yet, very influential on health care ethics and can bring about a major ethical challenge. These indirect factors are considered to be external factors that influence health care ethics. These external factors can emanate from a sector such as the economy within which, is a great influence from market forces such as

Medical ethics and legal issues have been a key topic in medical field for many years now. It is important for medical professionals to understand the importance of the way we care for patients, it is therefore important to be knowledgeable and aware of the medical ethics and legal issues that govern good patient care. Health care professionals must make decisions based on ethical and legal issues to performance their regular duties. However, Medical ethics is not only about avoiding harm to patients. It is rather a norms, values and principles (Ethical theories 2015). Therefore norms, values and principles are intended to govern medical ethical conduct. Ethics is defined as “a standard of behaviour and a concept of right and wrong beyond what the legal consideration is in any given situation”. In another words medical ethics is a discipline that used to handle moral problems coming out the care of patients. Law is another important discipline that often comes together with medical ethics. Law defined as a “rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority”. Government imply law to keep the society running smoothly and to control behaviour that could threaten public safety. Medical professionals have to often prioritise these terms before making any clinical decision. The following findings will constructively emphasise on medical ethics, its

Nurses are faced with ethical issues and dilemmas on a regular basis. Nurses must understand his or her values and morals to be able to deal adequately with the ethical issues he or she is faced with. Some ethical issues nurses are exposed to may be more difficult than others and the ethical decision making process is learned over time.

“If you don’t have integrity, you have nothing. You can’t buy it. You can have all the money in the world, but if you are not a moral and ethical person, you really have nothing”. –Henry Kravis - The American healthcare system delivers some of the finest care in the world. However, despite the high level of achievement delivered from the American healthcare system, it is afflicted with problems. Ethical issues that occur in the healthcare delivery system are indeed common. Almost every decision that is made in a healthcare organization has ethical implications. These ethical implications are towards the patient, provider and the leader of the organization. Ethics tend to determine which actions will contribute to an individual fulfillment of happiness. Ethics are very powerful and tend to presuppose freedom and responsibility in the organization. In my current place of employment the care of patients is integrated with medical research, which in return allows for the healthcare practices to continuously be studied and improved. As a healthcare leader or worker, decisions will be made when the common good of both the patients and organization must be taken into consideration. As an effective healthcare leader one must practice adhering to the ethical standards and codes of conduct for his or her individual place of employment. According to Rae (2009), there are 7 steps in making moral decisions. The seven

Everyday health care workers around the world are faced with tough decisions. The law guides many decisions but some decisions require ethical considerations. Making good ethical decisions is not always as easy as it seems. Making ethical decisions is even harder when the primary intention is to be helpful, but it is beyond an employee’s qualifications.

Health care ethics is not only limited to factors that directly give rise to ethical issues such as not respecting a patient’s autonomy, and the beliefs and values of persons directly affected by decisions on the treatment of a patient. Ethical dilemmas are also posed by factors considered as indirect yet, very influential on health care ethics and can bring about a major ethical challenge. These indirect factors are considered to be external factors that influence health care ethics. These external factors can emanate from a sector such as the economy within which, is a great influence from market forces such as

As a health care provider, I believe physicians do have the right to refuse certain procedures do to morals or religious beliefs. I have seen as a physician had stated to me "fire" a patient. The reasons he gave were that the patient never showed up for her prenatal visits. A letter was sent to the patient many times about coming to prenatal visits, but she never showed up. When the patient didn't respond, she was let go from that physicians practice. The physician felt morally that he couldn't provide the optimum care for the patient, and it was in the patients best interest to get her care elsewhere. Another physician suggested the patient go to another hospital for care because she wanted only women caring for her, for religious reasons, and only male physicians were working that day. The patient and her husband talked about it and decided to stay, and they ended up loving the care they received from the male physicians. I have also seen many doctors refer early second trimester abortions to a physician that could accommodate the patient. Most

According to Morrison E. And Furlong B. (2014), hospital ethics committee is one of the most important group that exist within a health care organization. Today, ethics committee are become more of use due to ongoing ethical conflicts. In addition, more health care organizations such as, hospitals, nursing homes facilities, and managed care are reaching out to this group for better assistance (Morrison E. & Furlong B. 2014). It is also understood that ethics committee serve major roles including, developing standards and policies, improve and promote education, and orchestrating clinical consultations. The underlying goals of traditional ethics committees are: to promote the rights of patients; to promote shared decision making between patients,

When doctors see patients 50/50 chance they aren’t seeing their family members . There is many reasons why the doctors don’t treat their family . There are states that have laws for doctors saying that the use of medical attention to a family member . The question is if this is an ethical decision or not ? Should doctors be able to perform on people in their family or they shouldn’t ?

Cases such as this are eventually resolved in court, but it does not close the gap in how to ethically handle future problems, or improve the current problems in death laws. This is where an ethics committee becomes the strongest asset to not only solve disputes, but do so in an ethical manner when policies provide little guidance and the public misunderstands the limitations of medical intervention.

Whenever two obligations are at conflict it presents what is known as an ethical dilemma (Chaloner, 2012). It is nearly impossible to make once choice without sacrificing another. Examples of such dilemmas in healthcare may include decisions such as prolonging life for a terminal ill patient through artificial means or saving a mother via a risky surgery that may jeopardize the life of an unborn child. Healthcare practitioners must always exercise caution when ethical issues arise and find a way to balance societal norms, personal philosophies and values and religious beliefs (Arnold & Boggs, 2007). Personal ethics may guide reactions and initial choices, but the needs and rights of the patient should always serve as guideposts for ethical communication and behavior in administering healthcare services (Reiter-Theil, 2012).

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.

Truth – telling in medicine is a broad area and often encompasses several ethical issues. These issues include the right of patients or their family to receive information about their diagnosis as well as illness. On the other hand, the physician must balance his or her obligation to tell the truth against the imperative of - do no harm.