Metal foam in the future will be an integral part of our society, however, in order to prevent abuse from this technology ethical principles will be applied and anticipated. Metal foam will be heavily used in the medical field, specifically orthotics. It potentially could replace and enhance the human bone structure. Consequentially, there is a great potential that people will misuse the technology, prevent others from benefiting from the technology, and falsely misrepresent the technology. The principles used to anticipate ethical problems are justice, rights, and consequentialism.
The principle of justice explains “how to achieve a fair distribution of scarce resources within society”(Wilson). Metal foam will be used in medical procedures and because of this there will be a small number of doctors who can perform the procedure, and the procedure will also be expensive. These conditions create a divide between members of the public, a socio-economic divide. Those who can afford metal foam and those that cannot. In a just world every-person who needs metal foam would be able to receive it. However, that is not the case. In order to try and create this “fair distribution of the benefits”(Wilson) of metal foam engineers should refer to the National…(NSPE) code of ethics. Statement II.4.c. which states that “Engineers shall not solicit or accept financial or other valuable consideration, directly or indirectly, from outside agents in connection with the work for which they are responsible”(NSPE). In order to follow the principle of justice engineers should not accept money or gifts from wealthy patrons. Reasons money or gifts would be given include, having the patron receive a new type of metal foam first, or to have the patron ...
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...ure will not be successful, then the doctor should let the patient know. This is to prevent bad results such as death or illness from a procedure or research that will not be successful. Statement II.1.e says that “Engineers shall not aid or abet the unlawful practice of engineering by a person or firm” (NSPE). This is saying that engineers should not be involved in illegal operations because there is a high chance that there would be un-desirable outcomes. An example being if there were illegal augmentation of metal foam into a soldier. If that soldier did not follow commands and instead created destruction and death, that would be a undesirable outcome.
Anticipating the future ethical dilemmas that will be faced by engineers involving metal foam is difficult. However, planning ahead and thinking of a variety of problems will prevent the misuse of metal foam.
American Medical Int’l, Inc. According to this theory, individuals’ decisions are guided by what they are supposed to do, not by consequences or effects. That is to say, a person’s action is ethically right if it coincides with a prevailing moral duty (“Deontological Ethics,” 2007). In the dilemma involving the patient Riser, Dr. Lang violated the theory of deontological ethics by not performing his duty of acquiring informed consent from the patient. By standard of conduct, Dr. Lang was supposed to present a consent form to Riser prior to the operation that would explain the procedure of a femoral arteriogram (although it was supposed to be bilateral arteriograms instead) and thoroughly explain the possible benefits and risks of the procedure. As a result, the patient should have the right to decide whether the femoral arteriogram should be performed or not. However, Riser was not aware of the femoral arteriogram at all. Therefore, deontological ethics should have been followed, which would advise Dr. Lang to follow the ethical duties of a healthcare professional, and those include obtaining informed consent from the
Today, there are so many legal dilemmas dominating trial for the courts to make a sound legal decision on whose right in a complicated situation. Despite the outcome of the case, the disagreement usually has a profound effect on the healthcare organization, and the industry as a whole. Many cases are arguments centered around if the issue is a legal or moral principle. Regardless what the situation maybe, the final decision is left to the courts to differentiate between the legality issues at hand opposed to justifying a case based on moral rules. According to Pozgar (2012), an ethical dilemma arises in situations where a choice must be made between unpleasant alternative. It can occur whenever a choice involves giving up something good and suffering something bad, no matter what course of action is taken (p. 367). In this paper, I will discuss cases that arose in the healthcare industry that have been tried and brought to justice by the United States court system.
He said, “Studies of specific types of error, too, have found that repeat offenders are not the problem. The fact is that virtually everyone who cares for hospital patients will make serious mistakes, and even commit acts of negligence, every year. For this reason, doctors are seldom outraged when the press reports yet another medical horror story. They usually have a different reaction: This could be me. The important question isn’t how to keep bad physicians from harming patients; it’s how to keep good physicians from harming patients” (658). Like Gawande asked—how do you keep good physicians from harming patients? Even the best of doctors and surgeons manage to make mistakes that led to being sued or even worst—they get to experience the death of their
One of the biggest incentives to perform scientific research is the acclaim that comes from making novel discoveries. For some, this is the driving force behind their work and can cause a conflict of interest that sometimes overrides the needs of the patient in cases with unethical actors. This is most relevant to case of John Darsee. To get data for his publications he would often falsify results and would perform experimental stent procedures on unknowing patients. Darsee’s ambitions were put above the health and wellness of the patients he had taken an oath to protect.
Dear colleagues, let us now consider the above principles of bioethics with regard to the case at hand. You all know that the principle of nonmaleficence dictates
During the course of this assignment there will be a number of ethical terms used that it would be helpful at this stage to introduce. Beneficence is a principle used during interactions with people that would see the Professiona...
In the text, Gawande states, “I punctured a patient’s lung, for example-the right lung of a chief of surgery from another hospital, no less-and given the odds, I’m sure such things will happen again.” This shows how fatal errors can occur during a surgical procedure however, it is something that surgical residents have to grow accustomed to since mistakes like this are likely to reoccur. Gawande also mentions that when practicing on a patient, mistakes are bound to happen however, it is a part of learning. In the text, Gawande states, “She let me continue with the next steps, which I bumbled through. I didn’t realize how long and floppy the guide wire was until I pulled the coil of its plastic sleeve, and, putting one end of it into the patient, I very nearly contaminated the other.” This quote proves that although mistakes can happen, it is a part of the learning process. In this specific part, Gawande talks about how he nearly made a severe error however, he was able to learn from his mistake and complete the procedure successfully. This shows how practicing on patients is necessary for the advancement of the medical field. Therefore, although ethical and practical tensions may arise, practicing on patients is needed in order to save the lives of many in the long
There are weaknesses in professional guidelines and rules because they are unable to provide the directives for moral reasoning and action is health care situations. Many people state that biomedical ethics provides a framework and emphasis on the person rather than the professional code and legal policy (Beauchamp and Childress, 2001). On the other hand they serve a purpose to provide some direction for professionals however codes of practise do not dismiss.
“The real costs of medical malpractice have little to do with litigation but the lost lives, extra medical expenses, time out of work, and pain and suffering of tens of thousands of people every year” (Baker 1). The effects of malpractice in the health care field are a major issue in today’s society. Working on a more profitable and safe way to ensure the prevention of malpractice is what should be worked on to promote a safe and comfortable environment for the people. There are many errors that malpractice portrays in the healthcare field such handling medical situations: informed consent, foreign objects, and operating on the wrong body part. Also with these mistakes come major lawsuits against the healthcare system and liability on the doctors become crueler. Many of the doctors are leaving and that remain practice in fear and silence. Making sure that the healthcare professionals are fit to do the job is what needs to be accomplished in order to have a structure and effective healthcare system.
Looking beyond the Nuremberg Code and applying it to modern medical research ethics, there are many challenges that it poses. Many have argued that the Code tries to provide for all unforeseen events, which restricts the researcher by requiring him to anticipate every situation, demanding the impossible. The most important contribution of the Code is the first principle, which says that voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. The subject involved should have legal capacity to give consent, should have free power of choice, as well as sufficient knowledge and comprehension of the experiment. This restricts that populations upon which some experiment may be conducted, since many do not have “legal capacity”. For instance, studies of mental illness and children’s diseases have been curtailed because neither of these populations has the legal capacity to give consent. Another group of people, prisoners, are never really able to give voluntary consent since they might be enticed by financial rewards, special treatment, and the hope of early release in exchange for participating in the human experimentation projects. British biostatitcian Sir Austin Bradford Hill also questioned whether it was important to inform a research subject who was receiving a placebo since it does...
This article is about an experiment done to try to see if Aluminum can cause resistance in potatoes to a disease. Aluminum is commonly found in arid soils which accounts for 35% of all farmable on earth. The aluminum (specifically Al3+) targets the roots of the plants and causes stunted plant growth and abnormal root formation. THis causes stresses in the plant which could lead to cross resistance. This immunity has led to some plants to develop cross resistance to diseases. THis has happened before in the plant, an example is the fact that ozone induces resistance to the tobacco mosaic virus in tobacco plants. This phenomenon is what is being tested for in potato plants. Potato plants will be subjected to infections from Phytophthora
Macklin R. (2003). Applying the Four Principles, Journal of Medical Ethics; 29: p.275-280 doi:10.1136/jme.29.5.275.retrieved from http:// jme.bmj.com/content/29/5/275.full
In this diverse society we are confronted everyday with so many ethical choices in provision of healthcare for individuals. It becomes very difficult to find a guideline that would include a border perspective which might include individual’s beliefs and preference across the world. Due to these controversies, the four principles in biomedical ethic which includes autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice help us understand and explain which medical practices are ethical and acceptable. These principles are not only used to protect the rights of a patient but also the physician from being violated.
Freedman B. Equipoise and the ethics of clinical research. N Engl J Med. 1987; 317(3): 141-145
Luegenbiehl, H.C. (1991) ‘Codes of ethics and the moral education of engineers’, D.G. Johnson, Ed. Englewood Cliffs, p. 137.