Often times it becomes hard to separate your head from your heart. Especially for scholars and doctors, who dedicate their entire lives to studying and making a name for themselves. I decided to pick the theme in medical ethics and the professional relationships between healthcare professionals and patients. How exactly should a doctor or a nurse treat a patient? Should they become emotionally invested, and if they do so, how do they a draw a line between professionalism and personal relationships? There is a way to look at this dilemma from different perspectives. You can look at it as a patient or as a health care professional. In "Merced", Dr. Daniele Ofri is telling a story about a patient who changed her outlook on life and made her distinguish …show more content…
Daniele Ofri, where she tells a story of a young Hispanic woman named Mercedes, who ended up in an emergency room in a hospital where Dr. Ofri was a resident. This story, unlike "W;t", is written from a doctor 's perspective. When Mercedes is first admitted to the hospital, Dr. Ofri is seen as a very competitive, young resident. She is trying to impress her attending and make sure she succeeds at anything that she does. After performing various medical exams on Mercedes, Dr. Ofri decided to perform more exams on her patient in order to impress her attending. She said: "Beside, it would really impress the attending on rounds tomorrow, when I would blithely nod my head at each diagnosis he 'd ask about." (Ofri) She surely cared about Mercedes and her well being, however she wanted to impress her boss and perhaps gain more knowledge and experience that would later benefit her career. Mercedes was diagnosed with a rare Lyme disease that Dr. Ofri had suspected. When Dr. Ofri learns that Mercedes has this disease, she uses the word "exhilarated" with that diagnoses. She ended up being happy that the diagnoses she suspected and tested for came back positive. Lyme meningitis is a serious condition that could be fatal, and in this case Dr. Ofri was not concerned much for Mercedes ' condition, but rather her own accurate diagnosis and a boost to her …show more content…
She helped her throughout her stay in the hospital. It appeared that she was the only health care professional who cared about Vivian. She treated her with care and respect, not as a trial material. Various times she mentioned that Vivian did not have any visitors, however she stayed with her in the room and kept her company. This nurse was a perfect example that it is possible to have a humane relationship with your patient and still be able to provide them with care. Nursing schools and medical schools teach their students how to interact with the patients and how to remain professional, but at the same time provide enough support that the patient does not feel alone. People get scared when it comes to death. We are all scared of death and Vivian was no exception. Vivian tried to hide behind her brain and try to not face her fear of dying . At one point she comes to a realization that she is scared of dying. She says: "And I thought being extremely smart would take care of it. But I see that have been found out. I am scared. Oh, God." (Edson). Unlike Dr. Ofri, who admitted to her mistake, Dr. Kelekian and Jason did not want to admit their defeat to Vivian. At one point they realized that the chemotherapy was not working and Vivian was not being cured. Her tumor shrunk a lot, but it also metastasized to other organs in her body. Vivian was dying and the doctors who treated her failed to explain this to her.
Diane was a patient of Dr. Timothy Quill, who was diagnosed with acute myelomonocytic leukemia. Diane overcame alcoholism and had vaginal cancer in her youth. She had been under his care for a period of 8 years, during which an intimate doctor-patient bond had been established. It was Dr. Quill’s observation that “she was an incredibly clear, at times brutally honest, thinker and communicator.” This observation became especially cogent after Diane heard of her diagnosis. Dr. Quill informed her of the diagnosis, and of the possible treatments. This series of treatments entailed multiple chemotherapy sessions, followed by a bone marrow transplant, accompanied by an array of ancillary treatments. At the end of this series of treatments, the survival rate was 25%, and it was further complicated in Diane’s case by the absence of a closely matched bone-marrow donor. Diane chose not to receive treatment, desiring to spend whatever time she had left outside of the hospital. Dr. Quill met with her several times to ensure that she didn’t change her mind, and he had Diane meet with a psychologist with whom she had met before. Then Diane complicated the case by informing Dr. Quill that she be able to control the time of her death, avoiding the loss of dignity and discomfort which would precede her death. Dr. Quinn informed her of the Hemlock Society, and shortly afterwards, Diane called Dr. Quinn with a request for barbiturates, complaining of insomnia. Dr. Quinn gave her the prescription and informed her how to use them to sleep, and the amount necessary to commit suicide. Diane called all of her friends to say goodbye, including Dr. Quinn, and took her life two days after they met.
The case of Marguerite M presents an ethical dilemma. Medical ethics play a special role in medicine and is directly concerned with its practice. Its role has continued to evolve as changes develop in
Professionalism in the workplace in many professions can be simplified into general categories such as neat appearance, interaction with clients, punctuality, general subject knowledge, and likability. In nursing, professionalism encompasses a much more broad and inclusive set of criteria than any other profession. Nurses specifically are held to a higher standard in nearly every part of their job. Nurses are not only expected to uphold what it seen as professional in the aforementioned categories, but they are also expected to promote health, wellbeing, and advocate for patients, but also continually provide the highest standard of care, demonstrate exemplary subject and procedural knowledge, and abide by the Code of ethics set forth by the American Nurses Association. This Code of Ethics includes the complex moral and ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, fidelity, honesty, and integrity.
Professionalism in the social work field goes beyond licensure and expertise (Cournoyer, 2014). According to Cournoyer (2014), social work professionalism encompasses the concepts of integrity, self-efficacy and knowledge, self-understanding and self-control, and social support (Cournoyer, 2014). Embedded in social work professionalism is the person-environment perspective, which posits that our personal attributes, interactions and relationships with others, and environment influence a social worker’s practice. Cournoyer stresses that it is a social worker’s responsibility to acknowledge and regulate his or her personal biases, ideologies, and beliefs when working with clients in order to prevent them from negatively impacting the therapeutic
The treatment Vivian receives from both Doctor Kelekian and Doctor Jason is almost intolerable. At various points within the film we are exposed to the harsh care given from both doctors but mostly from Doctor Jason. She is painstakingly and carelessly treated for and less like a human being ...
Professionalism is defined as one's conduct at work. The quality of professionalism is not restricted to those in occupations with high level of education or high earnings. Any worker regardless of their level of education or occupation should demonstrate a high level of this trait (About.com, 2013). Acting professionally at workplace makes others think of you as reliable, respectful, and competent.
Nursing is a complex degree, so many different subsets and divisions that it is hard for the common person to fathom. Returning to my education and rediscovering all these theories and ideas is very overwhelming. In my work I am already beginning to see myself change for the better. Work is always very stressful even more so now, and I see myself becoming a leader when in the past I would not have been. While reading the assignment this week and focusing on the Essentials document and the other readings I find myself inspired and saddened. Inspired to becoming a better nurse, co-worker, advocate, and friend in the working environment. Saddened because the last nine years I believed that I was providing excellent patient
Albert Jonsen, the author of “A Short History of Medical Ethics”, covers more than two thousand years of renowned medical history in a mere hundred and twenty pages. He covers many cultural customs and backgrounds involving medical discourse, beliefs, and discoveries which have led to the very formation of the distinguished society we live in today. However, throughout this brief tour, Jonsen exploits the fact that even though there have been many cultural differences, there are a few common themes which have assimilated over the years and formed the ethics of medicine. The most prevalent themes of ethics presented in Jonsens text, are decorum, deontology and politic ethics. Decorum is referred to as both the professional etiquette and personal virtues of medicine. Deontology refers to rules and principles, and politic ethics expresses the duties physicians have to the community.
While on the unit I made sure to use my time wisely, I completed my assessment in a timely manner, advocated for pain medication, checked on fellow nursing students, and kept patient’s rooms organized and clean. Professionalism was also exhibited in my clean outfit, with my hair back, name badge on, nails cut, and appropriate footwear and clinical tools on hand.
Professionalism can be defined as the competence of skills and principles of an individual in a profession. A professional must be knowledgeable in their profession, committed to improvement of one’s knowledge and skills, service oriented, covenantal relationships to patients/patrons, creative, innovative, ethical, accountable and a leader. These competencies are essential for a professional to perform and excel in their profession.
Instead of caring for her, they learned from her. In one scene, around four medical students were all touching her stomach at once while trying to learn more about her disease. On the other hand, the nurses are there to care for the paitent. The only one in the film who was ever nice to Vivian was her nurse, Susan Monahan. In order for a hospital to function, there needs to be physicans, nurses, and an administration team. The nurses are there to make sure the patients remain emotionally and physically stable. Susan Monahan simply kept Vivian company. Whenever Vivian was nauseaus or felt overwhelemed with coming to terms with the illness, Susan would make sure to comfort her. She took the time to get to know her personally, and was the first to know that Vivian did not wish to be resisitated when her heart stopped beating. This was a very difficult decision that Vivian had to make, yet it was what she
Jason strides towards Vivian doing his daily routine of checking on his patients. It is not until a few moments pass that he realizes her unresponsiveness. He stops, realizing the horror of what might, and already is happening. He begins calling for a code, something that we know she does not want. Throughout the chaos, it is Susie who must take charge. These two lines highlight how Susie and Jason empathize towards Vivian. Susie states: “She’s DNR!” (Edson 83). While Jason states: “She’s Research!” (Edson 83). Susie respects Vivian’s choice and the hardships that she has been through. Although Jason cares about her cancer and the treatment itself, Vivian is much more than research. He pounds and yells “frantically … giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation” (Edson 81). Jason is not only afraid, he is terrified of losing
The combination of professionalism and ethics can be equated with an extraordinary nurse because they are core components in the nursing profession and crucial to patient trust, confidence and wellbeing. Having a degree in nursing is not what makes one a professional. Professionalism is
At the beginning of the play, although Vivian knows she gets cancer, she does not become anxious and frustrated. On the contrary, she is calm and seems affirmative to defeat the cancer. She does not completely understand the complicated medical terms and treatments that Dr.Kelekian provides, but she still tries to use her knowledge to find lexical parallelism and doctor’s incorrect explanation of insidious. “Insidious means treacherous” (Edson 8). “Insidious. Hmm. Curious word choice. Cancer. Cancel” (Edson 8). Vivian does not want to admit her ignorance in medical, so she...
Medical ethics refers to the relationship between health professionals and patients. The trust of patients in physicians has been vanishing. Today a lot of health care providers primary concerns seem to be in profit rather than in providing the proper healthcare to the public. Medical ethics consist of several different principles. Nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, and autonomy are just a few of the many principals. Nonmaleficence enacts that a health care providers, can never use treatment to injure or wrong their patients. Beneficence claims that health care providers are obligated to help others further their interest. Justice requires health providers treat every patient as equal and provide equal treatment for everyone with the same