Dr. Jack Mack Kee Autonomy In Nursing

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Autonomy in ethics refers to individual freedom or one’s right to make decisions without being forced (Jaafar,2016). In medical practice, autonomy is usually expressed as the right of competent adults (patients) to make informed decisions about their own medical care. The principle underlies the requirement to seek the consent of informed agreement of the patient before any investigation or treatment takes place. When Dr. Jack Mack Kee himself is diagnosed with cancer in his vocal chords, he discovers patienthood. The process is enormously uncomfortable for him, as he experiences a sharp decline in autonomy and everything that goes with it and thus he begins to develop some sense of empathy for those he has always scorned.
Dr. Jack Mack Kee’s …show more content…

According to the American Medical Association [AMA] Journal of Ethics, empathy is an emotional experience between an observer and a subject in which the observer, who is a physician in this case, based on the visual and auditory cues, identifies and transiently experiences the subject’s emotional state. Empathy can be seen in all forms and comes in myriad of ways too. For instance, a physician might encounter a patient who appears depressed, expresses a feeling of sadness and informs the physician that a close relative of him had recently passed away. This leads the physician to recall subconsciously his emotional state during a similar situation in which he has lost someone who was once close to him. This allows the physician to understand and connect with the patient in a more deeper state. The physician can eventually restate to the patient’s current …show more content…

It has been found to be directly therapeutic by reducing anxiety in patients when they are to confront their physicians. Knowing their physician is being empathetic, this perhaps allows the patient to confide his or her doctor more comfortably without any restrictions nor hesitations. Once the patients are free of fear and anxiety, they tend to open up to their physicians better. This builds a good rapport between a doctor and his patient. During our first year of medical education, my classmates and I were instructed in empathy and other medical professionalism in a course that also entailed cultural awareness and the patient-physician relationship. The course methods included lessons in cultural awareness and role-playing in which we acted the parts of being physicians, patients and other members of the care team. The lesson was an eye opener for me and my friends on realizing how empathy plays a vital role in a doctor-patient

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