An ethical issue or dilemma is a situation that is usually complex and it often involves an apparent mental conflict between moral imperatives. The moral imperatives must be obeyed resulting in transgressing another. When it comes to medical assisting, ethical issues frequently arise in health care according to the article on the ANM healthcare website. A medical assistant is an unlicensed support person who must work under the direction of a licensed professional and also may come upon ethical issues related to the field of practice. Ethical codes in the health care often derive from medical ethics in which they include expectations such as compassion, competency, and professionalism. “The AAMA Medical Assistant Code of Ethics requires medical …show more content…
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, …show more content…
One of the questions were what are the four principles of medical ethics and the answer to that is autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. There are the four most important topics when it comes to ethical issues in the medical field. Medical ethics is a system of moral principles that apply values and judgments to the practice of medicine. One good example of something that is not ethical as a medical assisting is giving family any kind of medication, other than over the counter medication, because a medical assistant is not licensed to do so legally because as a medical assistant, you do not carry the title of a doctor or a physician assistant. It would be considered illegal to do so, and if you steal the medication to give to one of your family members or even any of your friends then you can lose your job and even get in a lot of trouble with the police. It isn’t worth losing your job over so if anyone ever gets into this kind of situation then you should just recommend your family member or friends to just make an appointment if they truly need the medication and their doctor will legally prescribe it to them and no one will get into any
As population ages, clinicians will care for an increasing number of elderly patients. Just as these patients may present unique and challenging medical dilemmas, so may they also present ethical ones. Ethical dilemmas are present in everyday practice. It provides a brief overview of the situations that may raise ethical concerns. Although, these are not the only ethical concerns that may arise during care of the elderly and are not unique to the population, they represent the most common scenarios that clinicians may encounter in their everyday course of practice. Ethics, according to (Mueller, Hook & Fleming, 2004), is the analysis and identification of the moral problems that arise in the care of patients. Ethical issues on geriatrics: a guide to clinicians (2004) reports that clinicians will care for an increasing number of elderly patients with challenging medical problems.
An ethical decision that I was faced with within my professional career was about a month ago. I’m a dental assistant so I work with people every day and I have to deal with people and their personal bias. I had a patient that was underage and she come into the operatory by herself. I asked the patient did she have a guardian with her and she said “yes”, and she started to inform me that her grandfather didn’t like African American people. At that point I was faced with an ethical dilemma to not inform her grandfather about the treatment or to faced her grandfather, that I knew didn’t care for African American people. The problem was very difficult because I didn’t know how her grandfather was going to react toward me as a professional person.
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.
For over 75 years the profession of physical therapy has required it's members to adhere to a standard of ethical behavior.17 The first Code of Ethics adopted by the American Physiotherapy Association (APA) in 1935 was a brief document that placed a great deal of emphasis on the relationship between the physical therapist (PT) and referring physician, and the disciplinary actions of violating that relationship.3(p.4) Since 1935 the Code of Ethics has been revised and ammended several times evolving into two in depth documents that the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) refers to as the Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapist (Code), and the Standards of Ethical Conduct for the Physical Therapist Assistant (Standards).3(p.5),4,11 In an ideal world the Code and Standards would leave no room for question of what is th...
An example of an ethical dilemma would be a client who refuses to take their blood pressure medication however based on autonomy they have the right to. The nurse may not be able to follow the principles of beneficence and autonomy at the same time because respecting patient autonomy means the nurse is not able to fulfill the obligation to “do good” for the patient. However, in this case, if the patient was competent the principle of autonomy would take priority. Abortion is another example of an ethical dilemma faced in the medical profession. For instance, some doctors are against abortion, yet there are certain others who have no problem at all doing it.
The word ethics is derived from the Greek word ‘ethos’ meaning character or conduct. It is typically used interchangeably with word moral which is derived from the Latin word ‘moves’ which means customs or habits. Ethics refers to conduct, character and motivations involved in moral acts. Ethics are not imposed by a profession, by law but by moral obligation. It is unwritten code of conduct that encompasses both professional conduct and judgement. Ethics helps support autonomy and self-determination, protect the vulnerable and promotes the welfare and equality of human beings. An ethical dentist- patient relationship is based on trust, honesty, confidentiality, privacy and the quality of care.1
An advanced practice nurse (APN), will be faced with different types of ethical-legal dilemmas that in most cases will require the APN to make urgent decisions that will include both moral and ethical attention. Ethical dilemmas are conditions that have to scenarios course of actions to take that will contradict each other (Westrick, 2014, pp 258-265). The APN will have to choose between the two urgent decisions because each of these choices is deemed to be equally right and urgent. This is the reason that makes dealing with ethical-dilemmas very stressful for the APN and other experienced caregivers involved. It is very noteworthy that an APN has many medical responsibilities to provide care, and are also in the position to make urgent medical decisions that is independent because of being the person in authority at that time. Many of the existing ethical dilemmas will fall in with a variety of treatment withdrawal vs maintenance, the quality of life vs the quantity of life, euthanasia vs non-euthanasia, and pro-choice vs pro-life (Westrick, 2014b, pp.77-83).
Since ethical dilemmas are not always easily answered through the use of The Code of Ethics, ethical decision-making models are effective tools that can assist nurses in dealing with ethical issues. Ethical decision-making models provide a framework for working through difficult choices. They seek to define the limits of what is morally acceptable and help clarify the guidelines for making those difficult decisions. Ethical decision making models assist nurses in analyzing situations by focusing on understanding the patient needs, need for responsiveness to circumstantial considerations, and recognizing the uniqueness of each situation.
Ethics is the moral principle of doing that is right for our patients. However, there are some situations in where doing what is right conflict with other principles. As dental hygienist we have to provide the best care for our patients. The services we offer need to avoid injuring or hurting the patients. Also, they need to be able to remove any existing condition that is affecting patients. However, the first thing we need to have in mind is that patients have the right to accept or refuse treatment. When our duty conflict with the patient’s decision of not receive treatment, this put us in an ethical dilemma.
An ethical dilemma is defined as a mental state when the nurse has to make a choice between the options and choices that he or she has at her disposal. The choice is a crucial task as the opting of the step will subsequently determine the health status of the concerned patient, hence it requires a great deal of wisdom along with proper medical and health training before any such step is opted as it is a matter of life and death. Strong emphasis should therefore be on the acquisition of proper knowledge and skills so that nurses do posses the autonomy to interact with patients regarding ethical issues involved in health care affairs and address them efficiently. It is normally argued that nurses are not provided sufficient authority to consult and address their patients on a more communicative or interactive level as a result of which they are often trapped in predicaments where their treatments of action and their personal beliefs create a conflict with the health interests of the patient. (Timby, 2008)
1.4 Ethical dilemmas and conflict that may arise when providing care support and protection. Support and protection to users of health and social care services. What is the meaning of ethical dilemma, Pillars of ethical dilemma. Examples of ethical dilemma.
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.
Physician-assisted suicide refers to the physician acting indirectly in the death of the patient -- providing the means for death. The ethics of PAS is a continually debated topic. The range of arguments in support and opposition of PAS are vast. Justice, compassion, the moral irrelevance of the difference between killing and letting die, individual liberty are many arguments for PAS. The distinction between killing and letting die, sanctity of life, "do no harm" principle of medicine, and the potential for abuse are some of the arguments in favor of making PAS illegal. However, self-determination, and ultimately respect for autonomy are relied on heavily as principle arguments in the PAS issue.
As with every code of ethics the Physician Assistant profession has revised its code of ethics to keep with the changing times in the medical field. Four main bioethical principles broadly guided the development of these guidelines: autonomy, beneficence, no maleficence, and justice.3This Physician Assistant (PA) should follow the do no harm rule, understand the patient has the right to make decisions about their care, always act in the best interest of the patient, and treat all the patients the same and make sure care is consistent for every
Another huge ethical topic is the patient’s right to choose autonomy in the refusal of life-saving medicine or treatment. This issue affects a nurse’s standards of care and code of ethics. “The nurse owes the patient a duty of care and must act in accordance with this duty at all times, by respecting and supporting the patient’s right to accept or decline treatment” (Volinsky). In order for a patient to be able make these types of decisions they must first be deemed competent. While the choice of patient’s to refuse life-saving treatment may go against nursing ethical codes and beliefs to attempt and coerce them to get treatment is trespass and would conclude in legal action. “….then refusal of these interventions may be regarded as inappropriate, but in the case of a patient with capacity, the patient must have the ultimate authority to decide” (Volinsky). While my values of the worth of life and importance of action may be different than others, as a nurse I have to learn to set that aside and follow all codes of ethics whether I have a dilemma with them or not. Sometimes with ethics there is no right or wrong, but as a nurse we have to figure out where to draw the line in some cases.