The Ethical Dilemma Of The Medical Profession

This ethical issue that I have decided to write about is a matter that has occurred in many medical facilities across the world. I have made up some names for this case study but the incident is real. This case study involves a physician named Derek Johnson M.D. This physician worked with numerous of nurses and other health care professionals and most of them believed Dr. Johnson had a narcotics problem. The health care providers did not know for sure if this physician was using narcotics they could only speculate and they had some evidence that Dr. Johnson was illegally using the narcotics. The health care providers thought Dr Johnson was illegally using anesthesia. The reason the other health care

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.

The case of ethical dilemma concerns a fifty-year old woman who was admitted in the hospital complaining of vomiting, indigestion and weight loss signs and symptoms. After conducting barium X-Ray and gastroscopy it was found out by doctors that the patient was suffering from malignant kind of gastric carcinoma and hence further diagnosis and treatment will have to be conducted in relation to the disease the patient was suffering from. Doctors suggested a palliative surgery for reducing stenosis but felt it before time to disclose this information to the patient which was cemented after proper consultation with the patient’s husband who said that her wife would overreact in a situation like this as she had a phobia regarding tumors and cancer diseases.

"The registered professional nurse, in facilitating the ethical decision-making process, can utilize different frameworks and models [through steps]" (NYSNA, 2011). An alternative to address the ethical issue, the nurse must first identify the issue at hand. Andrea, who was a minor, was diagnosis with cervical cancer and upon completion of her assessment it was also noted that Andrea was a participant in "sex parties." The ethical dilemma lies in whether the nurse should break confidentiality to inform her parents of the medical findings and the subjective information given by Andrea. The second step is to obtain the facts, which in Andrea 's case, is supported by medical assessment, laboratory studies, diagnosis, and Andrea 's own verbal statement. Next, the nurse must evaluate alternative actions plans to handle and help resolve the dilemma. In this case, the nurse should also consult the hospital case worker, ethics committee, nursing code of ethics, and hospital guidelines and policies and procedures to help with the final decision or action plan. The ethics committee would aid as case consultant, identifying

In today’s health care industry, mechanical restraints are often used to maintain patients’ behavior and ensure their safety when treating the elderly and the severely ill (Gatsmans & Milisen, 2006). There are many variations of mechanical restraints, but all are defined as “any device, material or equipment attached to or near a person 's body and which cannot be controlled or easily removed by the person and which deliberately prevents or is deliberately intended to prevent a person 's free body movement to a position of choice and/or a person 's normal access to their body” (Gatsmans & Milisen, 2006, p.

Unfortunately, truth-telling in nursing has created serious ethical dilemmas because many times nurses tell patients one thing and do something else. To tell the truth or not to tell the truth is an ethical dilemma, which is a situation that result in a conflict of two or more

A physician has the responsibility to determine the legitimacy of all work injuries and to report its finding accurately. If a physician prepares a report with the intent to use it in support of a fraudulent claim and knowingly submitted for payment under an insurance contract, the physician may be subject to fines or imprisonment and risks the possibility of having his or her medical license revoked. Presenting a claim for an item or services based on a code known to result in greater payment or submit a claim for services not medically needed is a violation of the false claim act.

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.

In any medical setting, it is essential to respect the patients’ autonomy. Any competent patient has the right to make decisions regarding his or her health. However, the principles of beneficence and non-maleficence also need to be considered. Respecting the patients’ autonomy does not entail a one-size-fits-all approach to truth-telling. Unfettered truthfulness or “truth-dumping” may not be in the patient’s best interest. Moreover, some cultures do not subscribe to the individualistic principle of patient autonomy and family members are significantly involved in the patient’s decision-making.

Sometimes doctors want the best for their patients and that means talking to them in a different way to make them consent to a treatment they think is their best option. An example of this is when Dr. So concentrates on the benefits of the surgery so that Andrew’s stress levels will not affect the surgery results if he hears the possibility of death or further heart damage. In this paper, I argue that it is wrong for Dr. So to use her medical knowledge as a means to deceive Andrew about the surgical risks, as she is disrespecting the life achievements he desires for himself. First, I will describe the deception- to- benefit- concept and autonomy and then explain Susan Cullen and Margaret Klein’s response to Dr. So’s actions. Next, I will explain the objections to their response, which I have created, and finally, I will then refute this reply.

Questions about truth and untruth in reality infest all human correspondence. They are brought up in families, clubs, work places, houses of worship, and even within healthcare. Honesty is very important to patients. Integrity of a healthcare professional is also very important to doctors and all healthcare professionals and jobs could be lost if doctors deceive and omit information to patients under any circumstance (Drane, n.d.). Regardless of any situation, at no time should a healthcare professional use deceit or dishonesty when caring for a

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.

One of the most perplexing aspects of the Shoah is the extent to which ordinary citizens participated in its execution. Particularly shocking is the degree of participation by the medical community, considering that doctors are specifically trained to do no harm. Nonetheless, hundreds of doctors contributed directly to Nazi cruelties, while thousands more acquiesced in passive silence. This raises troubling questions, such as how much responsibility the medical community ought to bear for the Shoah and the events that preceded it, and why so many physicians were willing to perform these cruel acts. I argue that the German medical profession played an indispensable role in both the causation and implementation of the mass atrocities

A career in nursing is a challenging one. There is a high demand for physical strength when working a long, twelve-hour shift, and an even higher demand for emotional strength when communicating with clients and family members alike. In both cases, the best asset a nurse has available is the ability to think critically. The nurse is constantly applying themselves in therapeutic ways in order to help deliver the best possible evidence-based outcomes for clients. Behind all these processes lies the basis to choose between right and wrong; ethics. The chosen case study presents a common ethical dilemma. The night before a client’s surgery, the nurse explains the procedure to the client. When asking the client to recall the procedure he describes a different procedure altogether, indicating that the client is not informed of the surgical outcomes. According to the College of Nurses of Ontario, under the Consent Practice Guideline, this becomes a breach of consent, as the client is incapable of making an informed decision. Therefore the surgeon must explain the procedure to the client and the client must be reassessed. If they are still found incapable of decision-making, a hierarchy of substitute decision makers must be followed. The client’s surgeon must be contacted as soon as possible in this situation (CNO, 2013). The dilemma herein is when to call the surgeon after obtaining the information from the client. The two most