This paper will explore ethics, patient rights, cultural considerations and ethical dilemmas and how they are present or not in the case of J.M a 48-year-old male Navaho tribe member who was brought into the unit with suicidal ideation and has a diagnosis of alcohol abuse. This patient has refused the psychotropic medications prescribed to him on the unit. The psychiatrist told the nurse to hide the medicine in his food. The evening nurse hid the medication in the food. When he noticed the pills, he turned the table over and was put in restraints. This case is an example of an ethical dilemma where the nurse wanted to follow orders but it contradicted with the patient’s cultural beliefs with healthcare it also has a violation of ethics, violation of patient rights and a violation of the law.
Ethics and Patient Rights
There are five basic principles of bioethics. The first is Beneficence this is the duty to act to promote the good for others (Halter, 2014). The example for this is if there is an order for a medication that is much higher than the normal dosage the nurse takes the time to call the doctor to check if the dosage is correct to keep the patient safe. Autonomy is respecting the rights of patients to make their own decisions (Halter, 2014). An example of this is the patient refuses to take their morning medication by choice. Justice is the duty to treat all patients the same regardless of personal attributes (Halter, 2014). An example of this is treating a
between two sets of human values, both of which are judged to be “good” but neither of
Ethical principles in the healthcare settings are formed to set specific values, morals and beliefs to the medical practice. The four most common ethical principles are autonomy, beneficence, justice and nonmaleficence (Health Care Ethics, 2011). Autonomy is to honor the patients right to make their own decisions. Beneficence is to help the patient advance his/her own good. Justice is to be fair and treat like cases alike. Nonmaleficence: is to do no harm.
Ethical dilemmas occur when there is a disagreement about a situation and all parties involved question how they should behave based on their individual ethical morals. (Newman & Pollnitz, 2005). The dilemma that I will be addressing in this essay involves Michael, recently employed male educator working in the nursery, and parents of a baby enrolled at the centre. The parents have raised concerns about male educators changing their child’s nappy as they have cultural practices that do not allow this practice to take place. This situation is classed as an ethical dilemma as there is a dispute between cultural beliefs and legal requirements within the workplace. There are four parties involved (parents, child, educator and director), all
Nurses are faced with ethical dilemmas every day. There are a lot of different beliefs surrounding ethics and the code of ethics. Ethics and ethical issues have always existed, that is why they have put in place the code of ethics. The American Nursing Association (ANA) Code of Ethics isa guideline to help nurses determine which course of action to pursue. Every minute many ethical decisions are made, some may not comply with guidelines and others the patient’s will never understand. In this case study the nurse is put in an uncomfortable position and has two find a way to comply with the family, the patient, and the doctor’s orders.How can she report to the doctor the information the daughter has told her? How she approached
Principlism is a common practical approach to any bioethical dilemmas in medicine. According to Lewis Vaughn, there are five principles in Principlism that can provide a framework for reasoning through moral medical issues, which include autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, utility, and justice. Autonomy refers to the capacity of a person for making decisions for his/her own life. Nonmaleficence refers to doing absolutely no harm to others in any cases. Beneficence defines the right action to do is to bring good to others. Utility refers to always balancing out the harm by the good of an action. Justice refers to everyone should get an equal and fair treatment. The aforementioned five principles are supposed to provide some general guidelines for anyone who is
These principles have become widely used frameworks for ethical both in healthcare practice and also in clinical research. A few brief definitions; beneficence refers to the balancing of benefits of a treatment against the risks and acting in the way that most benefits the patient. Nonmaleficence is the avoidance of excessive harm. All treatments will have some risks and harm however minimal, the principle of nonmaleficence requires that the harm should not be disproportionate to the benefits of the treatment. Respect for patient autonomy is just as it states, that the patient should be respected as someone who can make reasoned, informed decisions of their own free will. Lastly, the principle of justice simply requires that risks and benefits be distributed fairly and that patients in similar situations should get similar treatments from their healthcare professionals. In another article, Macklin criticizes the four principles for not providing a useful way of solving bioethical issues, rather she believes that they provide a “sound and useful way of analysing moral dilemmas” (Macklin, 2003). I am inclined to agree with Macklin here, because it appears that
Ethics is about what is right and wrong, the reasons one gives for the choices and action one makes, and basically “what ought we to do and why (St. Michael’s, 2018)?” Bioethics; autonomy (right to make own choice), beneficence (to do good), non-maleficence (prevent harm), and justice (fairness) play an important role in these decisions in health care (Furlong, B., & Morrison, E. E., 2014, p. 11). Healthcare
At the start of this this course, I did not think much of how bioethics and legal medicine were connected. Week after week I am beginning to understand how important it is to evolve into a society with guidelines to better serve not only physicians but, all patients as well. In “Medical and Ethical Encounters” by John R. Carlisle, he enlightens us on how in actuality, good practice in law and medicine, is the gateway to superior health care in the united states. In the mid-1970s Beauchamp and Childress formulated a statement known as “the four principles of bioethics. Autonomy of a person to have his say respected by the physician is vital. Beneficence, to always promote health and wellbeing ultimately with an outcome of good over bad. Nonmalfeasance
In order to ascertain the merit of managed health care, ethical presuppositions guiding our health care system require consideration. In the United States, four main principles undergird the way health care is practiced. These principles are: beneficence, nommaleficence, autonomy and justice. Beneficence is the obligation of health care providers to render help to people in need. Just as health care workers are called to provide care, they also have a duty to do no harm. This principle is commonly called nonmaleficence. At times, the possibility of doing good may result in injury. Therefore, the principle of beneficence and nonmaleficence do not always concur. Thirdly, the principle of autonomy allows patients to make choices regarding their health care. In other words, health care providers should allow patients to make the final decision regarding their treatment plan. Finally, justice refers to the ethical concept of treating everyone in a
There are many ethical principles healthcare professionals must keep in mind for their patients: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, fidelity, and veracity (Chitty & Black, 2014). These principles may collide with one another and cause the fine line of ethics to be blurred. The principle of autonomy asserts that patients have the right and freedom to determine their own actions and decisions about their care and treatment. This principle is often conflicted with the principle of beneficence. Beneficence is defined as the “doing good” for others where healthcare professionals have the professional obligation to do good for their patients. However if a patient who refuses a treatment and then a doctor proceeds without consent to save their life, does this beneficence supersede the patient’s autonomy and rights to refuse care? When cases involve minors, doctors may be able to legally perform life saving treatments believing it is ethical, but the question is: Is it acceptable to override ones patient’s rights? If so, when? A patient’s right to refuse care is an ongoing ethical dilemma that continues today.
Ethical framework provides support and guidance for ethical decision making. There are three parts to the Ethical framework the consequentialist framework, duty framework and the virtue framework. When making ethical decisions no frame work is the correct one. When we know the advantage and disadvantage of them it helps us with deciding what approach is the most beneficial to a particular situation when we are present with. Consequentialist is when we are concentrated on the effects of the possible course of action and consider who will be affected directly and indirectly whatever determinations and achieves the best consequences. Advantages of the frame work in a situation where there are numerous individual, some may benefit from it and
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
“Brad is a production engineer at a bicycle company and part of his job includes inspecting broken bikes and drafting the design repairs for their repair” (Bartlett). Brad is considering replacing a broken brake cable with a more durable material, even though the customer did not request it in their order and specifically requested that “No aesthetic changes be made to the bike” (Bartlett). Brad’s manager suggests that his considered actions would go against the company’s policy of “The customer is always right.” Should Brad disobey the manager and the customer to possibly lose his job or go along with
There are four basic ethical and bioethical principles that have a strong influence in the practice of medicine, predominantly medicine that deals with those who are dying. The first is beneficence, which directs the physician and health care worker to take positive actions, specifically by restoring health and relieving suffering (Bongard et al., 2008). Then there is nonmaleficence. Goldman and Schafer (2012) add that nonmaleficence is the idea that people should not be harmed or injured knowingly. The third ethical principle is autonomy,
There are four commonly accepted principles of bioethics. The first is the principle of respect for autonomy. Respect for autonomy is a respect for the client to make informed and intentional decisions, provided that the client is judged to be capable of doing so. This principle is the base for the practice of informed consent as well as the right to accept or refuse treatment. The client is to be able to make a rational, informed decision, without any external factors influencing any decisions. This principle may cause what the health care professional perceives to be harm, but to the client, like a muslim client refusing to have a xenotransplantation from a pig, accepting the treatment would cause him to suffer