Ethical Essay 1. Within a biomedical context there are four principles that should be used in the consideration of medical ethics (REFERENCE). Respect for autonomy as the name suggests refers to the respectful manner in which healthcare professionals carry themselves ensuring that they allow persons to make reasoned informed choices (REFERENCE). On a superficial level, David should have the right to make his own decision on whether or not he wishes to go ahead with the intramuscular injection. Unfortunately, when applying this principle within the context of the mental health scenario this is challenged as David’s decision-making capabilities and ability to perform effective autonomy is compromised (Austlii.edu.au, 2015). Whilst it is important to assess mental health patients and their capacities individually, in this instance David’s vulnerability to self-harm is a strong factor in determining his own capability to make beneficial health choices. Beneficence refers to the balance of treatment against the risks and costs associated (REFERENCE). Within this balance the healthcare professional should act in a way that is of most benefit to the patient. Whilst from a physician’s perspective the long-acting intramuscular injection is of benefit to the patient, it is naïve to think that it too, is a benefit in David’s eye (REFERENCE). In this context, the application of intramuscular injection without consent has room for exploration as the negative impact of prolonged
Autonomy includes three primary conditions: (1) liberty (independence from controlling influences), (2) agency (capacity for intentional action), and (3) understanding (through informed consent) (Beauchamp & Childress, 2009, p. 100). According to Beauchamp & Childress (2009) to respect autonomous agents, one must acknowledge their right to hold views, to make choices, and to take actions based on their personal values and beliefs (p. 103). Respect for autonomy implies thaturges caregivers to respect theassist a patient in achieving? Heed? the autonomous choices of their patients. From there, patients can act intentionally and with full understanding when evaluating medical treatment modalities. Autonomy also includes a set of rules, one of which requires that providers honor patient decision-making rights by providing the truth, also known as veracity (Beauchamp & Childress, 2009, p. 103). In this case, several facets of the principle of respecting autonomy, specifically veracity, informed
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.
The community clinic has been a great experience to test our abilities and skills for the future as doctors of physical therapy. This opportunity helps students to get to know the strengths and weaknesses in real situations with patients. The community clinic is truly helpful and gives us, students, the chance of experiencing what our future jobs as physical therapy doctors will be like. The combination of practice, observation and feedback from classmates, professors and third year mentors gives a considerable amount of useful knowledge.
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.
Injecting the patient (Solution one) agrees with the principles of Justice, Non-Maleficence, Beneficence and only disagrees with Autonomy. For Justice, the patient is getting access to all of the treatments so this solution agrees with Justice. For Beneficence, this solution is to benefit the patient in the long run so the benefits outweigh the consequences. For Non-Maleficence, the patient is not being harmed in this solution so it agrees with Non-Maleficence. The only principle that this solution disagrees with is Autonomy. This solution does not agree with Autonomy because it is defined as “Requires that the patient have autonomy of thought, intention, and action when making decisions regarding health
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
The four principles of medical ethics include nonmaleficence, beneficence, autonomy, and justice. These principles were created by Beauchamp and James Childress because they felt these four were the building blocks of people’s morality. Nonmaleficence is to do no harm to others. Beneficence is to care or help others. Autonomy is to respect another’s wishes. These four principles relate to issues surrounding physician-assisted death in many ways. To begin, there are seven individual forms of PAD. They are the following; voluntary passive euthanasia, nonvoluntary passive euthanasia, involuntary passive euthanasia, voluntary active euthanasia, nonvoluntary active euthanasia, involuntary active euthanasia, and physician-assisted suicide. Passive euthanasia is an act in which the health care physician withholds treatment or surgery and the result is the patient’s death. An example of passive euthanasia is a cancer patient refusing treatment and the physician agrees with their decision, therefore the patient dies from the lack of intervention to treat their illness. Active euthanasia is an act in which the health care physician has a direct contact with the patient’s death due to the physician’s act of doing something to the patient in order for them to die. An example of active euthanasia is an injection of potassium chloride. Voluntary is when the patient is requesting assistance to die. Nonvoluntary is when the patient is not requesting assistance and their wishes are unknown
While there are some physicians who are against the legalization of (PAS), because they say it goes against the Medical Code of Ethics, there are some physicians who believe it is better that they assist the terminally ill who wish to commit suicide, because if they do not, the patient may attempt suicide on his or her own, which can lead to more complications. Using medications to terminate a life can be very difficult. The dosage and timing of when the drug is administrated is critical, especially when taken orally. Because failed attempts may cause greater trauma than death itself for the patient, the patient may beg their caregiver to help them, in completing their failed attempt at ending their life. It is for these reasons that some physicians
Ethical standards for all healthcare professions include principles of informed consent, veracity, and beneficence to provide best care (Kornblau & Burkhart, 2012). However, the definition of best practice can still differ among patients depending on their diagnosis, age, personality, and personal culture. Best practice gets further complicated when the patient is a child. The law concerning medical decisions for children states that children are unable to make their own decisions soundly (Goldstein, 1977). A parent must stand in as the decision-maker giving consent to treatments. Parents have the right to establish and dictate the course of healthcare without interference by the state. Parents can choose to accept or decline treatments,
On the other hand, as suggested by O Nell, the relationship between patient and doctor is merely a hollow ball unless a paternalistic view of medicine is expected in which the reliance of the patient on professionals is generally accepted. Surprisingly, the focus on the bioethical discussion of the autonomy of the patient is the question of the real autonomy given to the patient to make a decision about the treatment. They adhere to the doctors influenced discussion they had before. In fact, it is not merely the patient’s decision but the doctor triggers him/her to do
Healthcare professionals encounter ethical decisions every day in the deliverance of healthcare for individuals with diverse values living in a culturally disparate and pluralistic society. Bioethics and professionalism are some of the few indispensable pillars of quality medical care. It establishes the foundation of how healthcare providers should treat their patients; building a trusting relationship and putting the patients’ needs first. The four main bioethical principles include respect for autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice1. The principle of respect for autonomy is based on the ability of personal rule and freedom. Automony in the medical field refers to the ability of the patient to act intentionally, with understand, and without external restrictions that would diminish any free and voluntary act2. The notion of nonmaleficence can be summarized by the quote from Thomas Sydenham, “primum non nocere”: ‘above all, do no harm’3. Physicians are obligated to avoid doing any harm to their patients; this principle outweighs even the principle of respect for the patient’s autonomy in an incident where potential harm can occur1. The dogma of beneficence is the physician’s duty to strive to provide benefits to the patient as well as taking action to prevent or remove harm from the patient1, 5. One of the most common ethical quandaries in medicine revolves around the balance of nonmaleficience and beneficence; basically, the potential benefits of any
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.
Patients should be treated with respect and politely since they are in a fragile state and more so, they have their own right as an individual. It is the duty of a caregiver or anyone responsible for his /her health to do anything in order to promote the patients' health. Therefore, it is wrong for somebody taking care of a patient, to burden or impose strenuous activities on him/her. In this case, the first thing to do after learning of the events which has taken place in you absence, first it is necessary to terminate the caregiver's services, and advice the caregiver that what he/she did was not of best interest to the patient's health promotion. After a thorough talk and advice to the caregiver, the patient too should be counseled and reassured that any services provided will be of good intention and the best interest to him/her journey to recovery (Catherine Myser, 1995). In case the patient's faith in the kind of services the caregiver used to give him/her has deteriorated because of being subjected to mental torture, then a new caregiver/nurse should be assigned to the patient.
Professionals in every field are always confronted with some kind of ethical issues. It has however been noted that these ethical issues become high in magnitude and extent when public officials are involved. Due to the involvement of human life, an industry like healthcare holds ethics in highest regard. Even though these healthcare practitioners are highly trained to deal with issues of these kinds, their decisions can sometimes have a lasting impact on their professional and personal lives (Edwards 2009).
The essay will discuss the ETHICS IN MEDICINE : The Relationship Between Law and Medical Ethics: