do not think that it’s acceptable to deceive a patient in order to prevent unnecessary suffering. I value honesty and I think you should always be honest with patients regardless of the circumstance. It is not a good idea, in my opinion, to deceive a patient because it can make them lose trust and respect for you. For example, if I asked a doctor or nurse if I was going to live, I would not want them to sugarcoat the truth because it would make me angry knowing that I was deceived. Honest is the best policy.
If I was busy and two call lights go on at the same time, I would respond to whoever I think may need my help the most first. However, I feel that it would be better to respond to the verbally abusive patient first because if they have to wait for me to respond to their call light, they might get angrier. I would go
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I am curious as to how I will handle a patient who will die without a blood transfusion, but refuses the transfusion based on religious belief. I know patients have right to refuse treatment but I would hate to see a patient die because of a religious belief. I respect religion but it should not get in the way of saving a life.
I liked the ethical decision-making model. It’s a model I will use in the clinical setting to help me solve ethical issues. It’s important to analyze the problem, develop alternatives, and evaluate the effectiveness according to Parks article (p. 151- 155). The model is easy to understand and addresses my worries when it comes to ethics. Caring ethics is most in line with my beliefs and values.
The ethical framework that I struggle with the most is balancing autonomy and beneficence. Ethical issues may arise when a patient’s decision that is autonomous conflicts with the health professional duty of beneficence to act in the patient’s best interest. For example, a patient with a respiratory infection might refuse
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political, and bioethical reasoning. Inside these connections, it is the limit of a sound individual to make an educated, unpressured decision. Patient autonomy can conflict with clinician autonomy and, in such a clash of values, it is not obvious which should prevail. (Lantos, Matlock & Wendler, 2011). In order to gain informed consent, a patient
We have one resident in the long-term facility who has stage four cancer of spinal cord and he has been suffering from intense pain. Every time when I enter his room, he cries and implore to the god that he can minimize his suffering. He has prescription of hydromorphone 8 mg every 4 hourly PRN , oxycodone 5 mg every 6 hourly and 50 mcg of fentanyl path change every 3rd day. After giving all scheduled and PRN medicine his pain level remains same as before. When I see that patients I feel like to give highest dose of medicine as well as alternative pain management therapy so that he can have some comfort but ethically I have no right to do that. He is hospice but he has no comfort at all. Following are the nine steps of Uustal ethical decision making model.
As selfish as it might sound, the decision of ending your life to avoid suffering is more about ending the suffering of your loved ones. It is way more painful to watch your family being sad, crying, getting frustrated and tired because there is nothing else they could do. As much as family tries to hide their distress, or as much as they try to avoid thinking about the inevitable, sometimes the feelings can't be avoid. I wouldn't want my family to go through this, and I wouldn't want to watch them being miserable. It is just not fair for them. Why wait longer for something that will eventually happen, especially when the patient is bed bound and has to depend on others for the most basic needs. I couldn't and wouldn't want to do that to my loved ones and to myself.
On April 24th, 2014, one simple recording released by TMZ made Donald Sterling, owner of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, the most hated man in America. In this recording, Sterling ranted over the fact how he did not want V. Stiviano, his partner, to be affiliated with any African Americans. As a result of his racist statements, fans, athletes, and sports organizations/members, voiced their opinions on the matter, flourishing social media. Many star players such as LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and a majority the Clippers players acknowledged that something had to be done, and that the NBA is no place for racism. In the end, after team owners took a vote, NBA commissioner Adam Silver held a press conference enlightening the public
Not all cases is patient autonomy the most important thing to respect and honor. There will always be situations where Medical paternalism is justified. Justifiable paternalism in a medical perspective is prolonging patients’ lives allowing them to exercise their autonomy. Failing to respect a patient’s treatment requests or denials is a violation of the autonomy at that point in time during their illness. While the previous statement is true, the medical professional is violating a patient’s future autonomy. For this reason, medical professionals have the right to act paternalistically, therefore medical paternalism is justified by means of future autonomy and obligations to promote patient
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.
In this diverse society we are confronted everyday with so many ethical choices in provision of healthcare for individuals. It becomes very difficult to find a guideline that would include a border perspective which might include individual’s beliefs and preference across the world. Due to these controversies, the four principles in biomedical ethic which includes autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice help us understand and explain which medical practices are ethical and acceptable. These principles are not only used to protect the rights of a patient but also the physician from being violated.
The six steps of the model are as follows: Identify the ethical dilemma, collect information, state the options, apply ethical principles to those options, make the decision, and implement the decision (Beemsterboer, 2010). The first step is to identify the ethical dilemma, which Beemsterboer describes as the most critical step in the model. To identify the ethical dilemma, one must recognize that the problem is an ethical dilemma with no one clear answer, and expound upon what the ethical question is. The next step is to collect information about the situation and values involved “as a basis for an informed decision.” (Beemsterboer, 2010, para. 8). After defining the ethical dilemma and gathering information about it, one must then state as many options as possible which may resolve the problem (Beemsterboer, 2010). Due to that fact that more than one decision may remedy an ethical dilemma, it is important to discuss all available options to better understand all angles of the situation and how to deal with as many of them as possible. Once all alternatives have been stated, each must be weighed against ethical principles. Beemsterboer suggests in the discussion of each option a list of pros and cons be made to demonstrate how the option may protect of violate ethical principles and values (2010).?? After analyzing each alternative it is much easier
The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics for Nurses has five elements that pertain to the Principle of Autonomy. Each individual element applies to “respect individual persons” (Baillie, McGeehan, Garrett T, M., Garrett R. M., 2013, p.33). In Chapter 2 of the Health Care ethics: Principles and problems text, it discusses thouroghly the consent of an individual to make their own decisions regarding their health and future requests of care. As a nurse or within all heath care professions, we must treat each individual patient with care, respect, and to remain mindful to the patient regarding any aspect of their lives. In the ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses, it explains ways of maintaining the empathy required in the health field. It further discusses that the respect for human dignity must be a priority, relationships to patients must remain neutral, the severity of the situation, the right to self-rule, and the professionalism that must be upheld by the nurse and their associates.
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.
The Ethical Decision Making Model is an ethical guideline that is useful in ethical dilemmas and what course of action to take. It’s a framework that allows professionals to analyze and make ethical decisions to the best of their ability. It gives counselors a protocol to determine the appropriate course of action when faced difficult challenge. These decisions are taking into account; reflect a concern for the interests and the well-being of all clients concerns. Counselors should keep in mind the Golden Rule: “Do onto others as you would want onto you”.
The following five-step model can help employees make appropriate decisions when faced with an ethical dilemma. The first step is to recognize the issue. Knowing what is the root cause and the main issue can help determine what ethical issue is at hand. The next step is to get the facts of the situation. Eliminating bias opinions and knowing the information source can increase the chances of making a good decision.
Ethical awareness is the first step in the ethical decision making process. “If a decision maker is to engage in ethical judgement processes that will eventually lead to ethical action, she or he must first recognize the ethical nature of the situation at hand” (Trevino & Nelson, 2011). In the case, Joe encounters an ethical quandary. Joe is taking care of a patient whom he is not supposed to leave unattended, however, he hears a staff member screaming in the hallway for help.
Decision-making is an essential and crucial part of psychologists’ work. Because these decisions immediately or in a long perspective affect others, psychologists bear direct responsibilities to the society and those with whom they work.
Ethical principles provide the general framework for decision-making in today’s educational environment. “Leadership begins with what the leader must be, the values and attributes that shape a leader’s character.” Pm110 Decision Making and Problem Solving. My decision-making steps would include the best ways to supervise, identify and solve problems, and in the end, get the job done. Compliance of rules, policies and guidelines are also a must and would be strictly enforced. I would have training for team building and problem solving. Also, I would have annual evaluations for accountability and proper feedback. Communication is the key to improving performance and achievement. I would promote daily procedures where viewpoints could be shared, differences discussed and everyone would work together for a common goal. I would stress an open forum for dialogue to address fair and transparent decision making. It is important to have a diverse group to get a wide variety of ideas and perspectives on the issues at hand.