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Essays about ethics in healthcare
Basic principles of healthcare ethics
Health ethics issues
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Maria Kabushinskaya Health care ethics is at its most basic definition is a set of moral principles, beliefs and values that guide the Physician Assistant in making choices about medical care for their patients. The central belief of health care ethics is the sense of right and wrong and the principles about what rights we possess, along with the duties as Physician Assistants we owe our patients. (Opacic, D. A. 2003) One must consider carefully all aspects of health care decisions as it helps us make choices that are just. End of Life At times, ethical questions do arise when the correct path is not present or when there is a disagreement between the medical professional and the patient. Common ethical questions could arise which include …show more content…
The program came into existence after a study of the role of the American Physician Assistant program and the need for a workforce that is suitable for the future. England has a set of standards that are published in the General Medical Council Standards and Ethic’s guide. (End of life care: Contents. n.d.) Compared to the United States, England’s guide to End of Life compares to United States standards as it lays out the principles for treating the patients with dignity, respect and compassion when facing difficult decisions about care. This also states that the patients privacy and confidentially must be honored. This is a basic human rights act that transcends both cultures as covered by the Human Rights Act of 1998. Another similarity to both code of ethics focuses on palliative care and how this is presented to the patient and their family. This care will include how pain is managed or other symptoms that will put additional stress on the patient. It is also important to consider the family to including psychological, social and spiritual support. Physician Assistants as Expert …show more content…
The GMC states, as with the United States, outlines that one must be familiar with the guidelines and developments that are involved in the work that you are performing. It is important to keep up to date and follow the legal aspects that the doctor or Physician Assistant can operate within depending on the state or country that the medical professional resides in. That is keeping within the confines of the law that the state outlines the contract that the medical professional is governed under. It is also morally correct to realize that one must work within the limits of their knowledge, the Physician Assistant or doctor must not over step their boundaries, this could hold one liable for the outcomes, especially when they do not have professional knowledge of the subject being addressed. In both cultures honesty and trustworthiness is important when giving expert witness accounts especially when under oath in courts or tribunals. It is important that one not make false or misleading statements. It is important to take reasonable steps to insure that the information being presented is correct and pertinent information is not intentionally left out. (Annals of Family Medicine.
Healthcare creates unique dilemmas that must consider the common good of every patient. Medical professionals, on a frequent basis, face situations that require complicated, and at times, difficult decision-making. The medical matters they decide on are often sensitive and critical in regards to patient needs and care. In the Case of Marguerite M and the Angiogram, the medical team in both cases were faced with the critical question of which patient gets the necessary medical care when resources are limited. In like manner, when one patient receives the appropriate care at the expense of another, medical professionals face the possibility of liability and litigation. These medical circumstances place a burden on the healthcare professionals to think and act in the best interest of the patient while still considering the ethical and legal issues they may confront as a result of their choices and actions. Medical ethics and law are always evolving as rapid advances in all areas of healthcare take place.
The employment situation can create awkward situations sometimes if a medical assistant is more dependent for her livelihood on an individual who might be practicing illegally and unethically. The five top ethical issues in healthcare right now is balancing care quality and efficiency, improving access to care, building and sustaining the healthcare workforce of the future, addressing end-of-life issues, and allocating limited medications and donor organs. These are just the top five issues found on the AMN health care website but it states that ethicists acknowledge that other concerns will continue to develop as well, such as healthcare technology’s impact on communication policies, medical records and patient privacy. (Jennifer Larson,
For example, both administrative and clinical medical assistants have to practice patient confidentiality, respect, sympathy, courtesy, friendliness, as well as helping out in their community and informing their patients. Medical assistants should also be well aware of a patient’s rights that are established by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) to promote excellent health care services. The patient has many rights, such as the right to medical care- meaning the patient has the right to receive high quality care and treatment but may also deny such treatment, respectful treatment, privacy, confidentiality, identity- a patient has the right to know the name and credibility of their healthcare provider, explanation of care- the patient has the right to be informed of their diagnosis and their treatment, informed consent, and a safe environment. Along with all of this, a medical assistant should have good communication skill, especially if seeking a job as an administrative medical assistant, and be able to work well under stressful situations and with various different people. In other words, a medical assistant needs to have the basics of these characteristics in order to prevail in their work
The four major ethical principles in health care are: Autonomy – to honor the patient’s right to make their own decision (the opposite is paternalism - the health care provider knows best for the patient), Beneficence – to help the patient advance his/her own good, Nonmaleficence – to do no harm (many bioethical controversies involves this principle), and Justice – to be fair and treat like cases alike. All 4 principles are considered to be in effect at all times. In theory, each is of equal weight or importance. Ethical responsibilities in a given situation depend in part on the nature of the decision and in part on the roles everyone involved play.
Apart from physicians, nursing professionals act as patient advocate in supporting end-of- life decisions as they spend maximum time with patients than any other member of the healthcare team. In many health care settings, the nurse has the responsibility of asking the patient about advance directives. Since each state identifies different laws regarding advance directives, it is important that nurses be aware of the rules of these documents for the purpose of accuracy and compliance. The nurses are required to document any conversations about advance directives in the patient's medical record and keep it timely and updated. Nurses can play vital role in resolving conflicts arising from moral and ethical issues related to advance care planning
The healthcare field is a large organization filled with individuals that work towards the common goal of helping others. In the past several years’ health care organization have focused their attention in improving healthcare as a whole by focusing on factors such as access to primary care, control cost, increase efficiency and improve outcomes. A growing trend in trying to meet these challenges has been the use of physician assistants. According to Assistant, physician (PA). (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2015, from http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=8593 a physician assistant is a mid-level medical practitioner who works under the supervision of a licensed physician. Their education qualifies them to examine patients,
The classical term for the word ethics is, moral philosophies that rule an individual’s or group behavior or action. The American Nurses Association used ethics to write the Code of Ethics for Nurses with these values and visions in mind: “(1) As a statement of the ethical obligations and duties of every person who chooses to enter the profession of nursing. (2) To act as the nonnegotiable standard of ethics. (3) To serve as an expression of the understanding on nursing’s commitment to society.” (Nurses Code of Ethics, 2015). With our ever-changing society and healthcare, also comes changes to the American Nurses Association’s
Lastly, Medical assistants are of great help to the physicians they work for. They make it possible for the practitioners to be effective in their practice. Just like all the other practitioners in the medical field, the medical assistants are expected to maintain high standards in the field. For the medical assistants this will include acting on the instructions given by the practitioners and adhering to the code of ethics as set by AAMA. The medical assistants are also expected to make sound decisions when faced with medical dilemmas. All this should be focused on giving the patient quality care.
The word ethics is derived from the Greek word ethos, which means character (1). Being moral always fills a nurse with morals respects, guidelines of good judgment and expert lead. There are three essential obligations for nurses, among many other which are the duty of autonomy, confidentiality, and obligation of care to all patients (2). There are professional duties with becoming distinctly legitimate obligations if any law and policies are ruptured in between professional practice. In 2001, a review found that there was an apparent requirement for more guidance on moral predicaments inside the medical professionals, subsequent to expanding legal cases and open request (3). Medical attendants ought to withstand to regulatory law and statutory law while managing the nursing practice.
Around the 1970s, Health Care Ethics Committees (HCECs) came to be recognized as a legal entity. HCECs primary function was to serve as an alternative dispute resolution committee in the case of disputes, particularly while dealing with the end of life decisions. The three major roles of HCECs are education, policy development and case consultation (Hoffman & Tarzian, 2005). HCECs provide education through seminars, conferences, grand rounds, etc. and this helps the hospital employees in making wise, ethical decisions. In addition, HCECs helps in the development of hospital policies. For examples: Do Not Resuscitate orders, informed consent, guardianship, surrogate decisions, advance directives, artificial nutrition, etc. Case consultation
Ethics refers to the values and customs of a community at a particular point in time. At present, the term ethics is guided by the moral principles that guide our everyday actions. These moral principles guide the researcher into deciding what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. The foundation of medical ethics is governed by two philosophical frameworks: deontology, and utilitarianism. However, ultimately, the ethics committees need to balance the risks, and benefits for the participants and the community associated with the particular research proposal.
The ethical issue presented is the physician sharing personal views of “non-traditional” treatments with others while patients are near. There are three healthcare concepts that are supported by ethical theories: autonomy, nonmaleficence, and beneficence.
Some of the decisions that the practitioners require to undertake are at times engrained in ethical dilemmas, posing a challenge for the practitioners to choose what is best for their patients. By virtue of all patients being different individuals, there is the likelihood of the value systems of these individuals to differ in certain instances, and some of these values are radically different (Cerit, 2012). Therefore, ethics are considered by these practitioners as the ideal tool that they can depend on when faced with ethical dilemmas in the course of delivering appropriate healthcare (Butts J. B., 2009). The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of Different ethical theories exist and are applicable to different scenarios and are all intended to improve the levels of thinking of the professionals as well as support appropriate decision-making. Existing theories include: I. Consequentialism/ Utilitarianism-
Garrett, T. M., Baillie, H. W., & Garrett, R. M. (2010). Health care ethics: Principles and problems (5thed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
While I have participated in clinical rotations for only over a year, I have already encountered a variety of ethical dilemmas and situations. During my short tenure on the hospital wards, I have personally experienced the importance of medical ethics in the day-to-day professional practice and life of a physician. Determining what “the good” is in any situation is an integral function of interacting with life in general. In the field of medicine however this act plays a crucial role as the absolute issue of life and death imparts an even greater significance to the choices that a physician must make in the care of his or her patients. And these patients have inherent value systems that can differ drastically from the physician’s values and