According to Pozgar (2016), the consequential theory of ethics asserts that the ethical merits of any action can be determined by examining the outcome, or results, of that action. An action is considered ethical if the outcome is more positive or good, than negative or evil. Regarding the case of Smith v. Friends Hospital (PA Super, 2006), where the plaintiff alleged that she was beaten and sexually assaulted by hospital staff while she was hospitalized, the consequential theory ethics can seemingly be easily applied. Certainly, the physical and sexual assault of anyone would not be considered ethical behavior because it results in an evil outcome. Despite the intentions of the “attacker,” a person is harmed, and therefore this behavior …show more content…
Therefore, even if the facts show that these employees where somehow providing professionally approved care, i.e. physically restraining her during an out of control incident, the patient’s perception that she was being physically and sexually assaulted remains to be the outcome. Therefore, according to the consequential theory of ethics, this behavior would not be considered ethical. Therefore, an alternative action, or one that is not perceived to be threatening and harmful, must be executed. 2. Apply one ethical principle to your assigned case. You may use the definitions (Week 1) or obtain information from an article or book. Give specific details as to why this principle applies to your …show more content…
However, regardless if their actions were misperceived, they resulted in the plaintiff suffering a traumatic event, and therefore should be considered unethical. Can an action be both ethical and unethical at the same time? Apparently, they can be. There are some actions that help some while hurting others. Perhaps, the question of whether or not a behavior is considered ethical is a matter of perspective. Nonetheless, health care providers must strive to conduct themselves so that no harm is ever done to the client. In this situation, there was likely an action that could have been taken that both prevented harm to the plaintiff and was not perceived as harmful by the plaintiff
Paramedics deemed the patient competent and therefore Ms. Walker had the right to refuse treatment, which held paramedics legally and ethically bound to her decisions. Although negligent actions were identified which may have resulted in a substandard patient treatment, paramedics acted with intent to better the patient despite unforeseen future factors. There is no set structure paramedics can follow in an ethical and legal standpoint thus paramedics must tailor them to every given
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.
People have opinions and ideas when it comes to ethical dilemmas. There are many examples: The debate on abortion, the trolley problem, and moral absolutism, to name just a few. In all of these examples it appears that emotion and feelings will, at some point, override an important ethical decision that needs to be made. An important factor of an ethical dilemma is how and when it might appear. Some dilemma's, like the debate on abortion, can appear in a way that there is time to talk through all options and available ethical concepts. In this type of dilemma it is possible to see how moral rules and ethical theories can be discussed and a decision made through compromise. In contrast, when a situation that poses dire ethical consequences calls for a moral action there must be a solution that is grounded in moral principle and that can be accessed quickly and efficiently producing the most desirable results. The principal that would seem the best candidate in these situations is consequentialism.
Control. Power. Decisions, who has the right to make them? Does the Government or a group have that right or does the individual have the right? Throughout history from our first book, the Bible, to our modern novels, literature has impacted our society in a great many ways; it reveals of our faults, and our triumphs, assist society in defining our moral values and ethical views. This paper will explore some moral and ethical issues about choice through several short stories: "Sonny Blue's," "Cathedral," and "The Lottery," and there will be two novels explored primarily; Fahrenheit 451 and George Orwell's 1984. The moral and ethical views that these books and short stories show us about our society today and the lessons that everyone could learn from them will be explored. To do this we must first understand the difference between morals and ethics. Morals are a person's individual view of the world, what they hold to be right, true, and just; a code of conduct. While morals are formed by the individual, ethics are a collective common law, yet not in writing; what the majority of the population hold to be right, true, or just.
I am on my way home from work and I notice a car flipped over on the side of the road. The car is leaking gas and no one has bothered to pull over to tend to the people inside. I notice this car is similar to my husband’s, so I pull over as fast as I can and race to the flipped car. When I look inside, I notice it is my husband and another women. My husband is still conscience and he mouths to me “I’m so sorry honey.” And from that second, I knew he was having an affair with the woman in the car. The car suddenly catches on fire, and I realize I have only a second to get someone out of the car and fast. I can get the woman out with no problem and save her life, but I won’t have time to go back and save my husband. My husband is losing a lot of blood and if I do manage to get him out, it’s a slim chance he may still. If I tend to my husband’s lover, he will indeed bleed to death but if I tend to my husband, I will save him for the moment but it’s not a definite chance he will make it. I have to choose whom to save but f...
1. What is the difference between a. and a. There are a few reasons that there could be a gap between the knowledge of ethics and being an ethical person. A person may not incorporate the ethical theories that they have learned into their lives, they may choose to be unethical, they may follow a code of ethics that is morally corrupt, or they might have psychological problems. We can be educated and knowledgeable in something, but not incorporate that subject or theory into our day-to-day lives. Sometimes it is because it conflicts with our beliefs or our moral code.
Introduction: In the healthcare setting, nurses often encounter ethical and moral dilemmas. This assignment presents an ethical dilemma. In this scenario, a patient, Carlos, who is recovering from a gunshot wound, is being discharged home to the care of his sister, Consuela. Carlos is HIV+ and Consuela is unaware of Carlos’ HIV status.
Medical professionals are faced with ethical decisions every day; however, the answers are not always simple or clear and the best decisions are not always made. In the following case study both ethical and unethical topics were presented. The case study reviews Main Street Occupational Therapy Clinic, where a current patient applies for an open position as a front office assistant. The case study states that the staff has concerns about hiring a current patient as well as concerns for the physical limitations the patient expresses during his treatment visits. Although the patient has claimed during his first interview he is able to perform all task without limitations. Due to the staff concerns, the patient is asked to agree to a second interview
Now let us just say that it was the husband on his deathbed, and his wife was the one out there trying to come up with these four thousand dollars. What exactly do you think she could have done differently to get the money? What exactly would this male doctor have made her do, to receive this cure for her husband? If she was the one out there begging and barrowing, do you think she would have, came up with more than two thousand dollars? Do you think if she was the breaking in and stealing, do you think they would have shown her some sort of sympathy? All of these actions falls right back into the ethics of care which also supports the virtue of
This scenario involves 200 bed health care center called “Rolling Meadows Community Hospital”. While John Waverly held a leadership position of CEO he placed himself into a situation of conflict of interest. John decision to not offer the postgraduate individual a position was based on personal benefit. The student was well appropriate and fit for the job, she contribute great measure to the hospital. Sexual harassment is sexual advancement that are not welcomed by an individual or even unpleasant sexual comments based on ones’ gender. Although John didn’t ask for sexual favors or bluntly make sexual gestures. He did make assumption solely on his personal feeling towards her and the fact she is a woman. Per Perry (2014), John stated, “he was
Investigators and prosecutors are constantly faced with several ethical dilemmas while executing their duties, which usually put them at a position whereby they have to make critical decisions in order to avoid a lot of public scrutiny. Some of these dilemmas include administrative discretion and nepotism. First, investigators and administrators have to maintain the highest levels of discretion while making decisions regarding particular cases (Padfield & Gelsthorpe, 2012). The question that many people, therefore, ask is whether these decisions are justified or not. Because they have to ensure success and maintain their reputation, these people when faced with dilemmas have to choose between two equally unfavorable options. As Pollock (2011) emphasizes, this task is very challenging. According to the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration & Management (CAPAM) (2010), the rules and regulations give investigators and prosecutors the opportunity to use their own discretion to make a decision regarding a problem at hand. However, despite the choice made, the problem is that it may be accepted only by a small section of the society. Because exercising discretion is often made on the basis of personal judgment, the society might take this as a corrupt practice. Some people might believe that the choice was made based on personal preference, affiliation to a particular group, or even personal aggrandizement (CAPAM, 2010). Another ethical dilemma that investigators and prosecutors face is nepotism. This concept is described by CAPAM (2010) as a practice where individuals make decisions to the favor of close relatives, friends, and other close people, which usually downgrade the quality of public service. In other words, when ...
The healthcare providers are always required to maintain a high level of ethical standard when they are carrying out their activities. They have an obligation to follow the stipulated codes of ethics as well as perform their required responsibilities. Ethics are an essential and an integral part of the healthcare profession, and everyone involved should ensure that he or she adheres to them. It also encourages health professionals to report events that may cause or already causes a potential harm. There are several reasons such as making decisions, patient care and medical research that require the healthcare providers to practice a high level of ethics.
Although I have never really thought about how my own ethics came into play when learning and reading about all these other ethical principles, this essay is forcing me to ponder about where my guidelines fall in accordance with those that we have studied in class.
The ethical theory I have chosen to focus on is consequentialism, and in particular utilitarianism, which is a subdivision of consequentialism (Fieser n.d.). Consequentialism can be defined as an ethical theory in which “correct moral conduct is determined solely by a cost-benefit analysis of an action's consequences” (Fieser n.d.). Put differently, consequentialism is a theory in which “an action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favourable than unfavourable” (Fieser n.d.). According to Fieser (n.d.) “consequentialist theories are sometimes called teleological theories, from the Greek word telos, or end, since the end result of the action is the sole determining
Duty theories apply morality which is based on fundamental principles of obligation (Fieser, 2016). The theories are non-consequentialist since principles applied are obligatory. The consequences that follow do not determine the ethicality of the decision to be made. For instance, one cannot neglect his children to achieve a benefit such as financial saving. One approach to duties can be the Samuel Pufendorf’s approach which categorizes duties as either as duties to God, self and others (Fieser, 2016). The rights theory can be another approach whereby a right is any claim that can be befitting against another person’s conduct. This creates an inter relationship between rights and duties, such that one person’s rights imply another person’s duties called the correlativity of rights and duties (Simmons, 1992). In this case study, it was the duty of Henry not to sexually harass Jill, based on the rights that protect her from sexual harassment. Based on the rights theory, the most ethical decision for Jill would be to inform on Henry, since she has a claim on him against his personal conduct of prepositioning.