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Professional ethics and values
Autonomy in patient's rights
Challenges in practicing professional ethics
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Professional practitioners need to be competent, their doctoring skills and knowledge must be up to date and maintain a good relationship with their patients and their colleagues. The patients’ rights and declaration civil rights enlists expectations of a professional medical practitioner in the field. To practice professionalism, the medical practitioners have to come to terms with the fact that every individual; race, color, creed, national origin, sex, an honorably discharged veteran, sexual orientation or any physical disability has a right to any medical attention available and should not be discriminated in any way. Matters of concern arise whether we as the professionals really adhere to the set laws protecting rights of patients and their civil rights (Washington State Legislature, 2014) (Washington State Legislature, 2013).
First, when a patient attends to a medical service center, professionals do not need to discriminate him/her on any basis, may it be race, color, sex etc. on offering their services. The patients should gain admission for treatment even if they have any disabilities or from a different culture. We all know, patients need good doctors who make the health of their patients their first priority. Therefore, the patient’s treatment should be in accordance to their individual needs promoting dignity and their self-respect (Washington State Legislature, 2014). In case of payments, medical practitioners should inform the patients on the fees they are charged and the accepted form of payment, for example, patients should not be discriminated based on their credit worthiness. The patients too should not be discriminated against access to insurance transactions to pay for their bills (Washington State Legislatu...
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...patient, he/she will be notified 30 days before termination of their services and have a signed copy during their discharge (Washington State Legislature, 2014).
In conclusion, any medical practitioners going professional should be competent, having main obligation of the health of their patients being first priority. They should act in integrity abiding to the set laws protecting the rights of the patients. The outlined WAC 388-805-305 patients’ rights and RCW 49.60.030 civil rights, guides the practitioners to make sure they provide the best care and treatment to support them to live as well as possible.
Works Cited
Washington State Legislature, (2013). Revised Code of Washington (RCW). Retrieved from http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/
Washington State Legislature, (2014). Washington Administrative Code (RCW). Retrieved from http://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx
When we see patients, we must remember that we are not simply treating a disease. We are caring for people with lives, hobbies, jobs, families, and friends, who are likely in a very vulnerable position. We must ensure that we use the status of physicians to benefit patients first and foremost, and do what we promised to when we entered the profession: provide care and improve quality of life, and hopefully leave the world a little better than it was
The absence of cultural competency in some health care providers, lack of community perspective integration in health care facilities, and low quality health care received by women in developing countries.These are the three most pressing health care concerns that need to be addressed in our ever changing world. The first of the issues I’ll be discussing is the lack of cultural competency amongst health care providers, as well as the shortage of education and training in cultural competency. As we all know and see the United States is a racially and ethnically diverse nation which means our health care providers need to be equipped with the necessary education and training to be able to provide for diverse populations. As an East African
In conclusion, It it is very necessary that our health care officials try harder to gain trust with minorities so that medicine can be focused more on equality. We all know that for decades our country was very diverse and everyone was treated differently. Although things have changed and it is sometimes important to preserve our past, past actions should not still be carried out. Even today, racism still occurs and it hard for minorities to feel safe when visiting hospitals and doctor’s offices. Minorities should be given equal medical opportunities, be given the honest truth on their diagnosis and treatments and most importantly be given some sort of health care so they can be treated.
Providers must act in the best interest of the patient and their basic obligation is to do no harm and work for the public’s wellbeing. A physician shall always keep in mind the obligation of preserving human life. Providers must communicate full, accurate and unbiased information so patients can make informed decisions about their health care. As a result of their recommendations, providers are responsible for generating costs in health care but do not generate the need for those expenses. Every hospital has both an ethical as well as a legal responsibility to provide care, even if the care may be uncompensated.
According to Penner et al. (2013), there are various causes of healthcare disparities, such as socioeconomic status; this results to poor healthcare services for people with low socioeconomic status, as people with low pay find it difficult to leave their work to seek healthcare help, or to afford healthcare insurance (p.4). The second cause is language proficiency. The language barriers faced by the immigrant plays a role in the healthcare disparities among the racial or ethnic minority patients. Another cause is health literacy. The levels of the health literacy among the foreign born individuals can be influenced by their higher level of distrust of the healthcare providers and healthcare system than they have towards Caucasian people. This, in turn, leads them to seek healthcare information less often than their Caucasian counterparts, thus hindering the provision of quality services, as well as limiting the foreign patients’ ability to manage their health conditions effectively. The foreigners’ failure to easily accept the information provided to them by healthcare providers puts them at risk. Disentangling the role of health literacy in racial healthcare disparities from the effects of racial attitudes and beliefs is often hard (Penner et al,
Healthcare services should be provided to all people without discriminations of any nature. Professionals in the healthcare sector should ensure that while attending to patients, they act in accordance to the medical laws. Agencies regulating the healthcare industry ensure that all the health professionals act in accordance to the medical laws and people have access to high quality medical attention.
Healthcare provider’s perception and judgment in the patient’s well being as well as taking into account the right of the patient in every action is one of the key elements in nursing practice. International Council of Nurses (ICN), (2006) states “The nurse at all times maintains standards of personal conduct which reflect well on the profession and enhance public confidence” (p. 3). Furthermore, nursing action guided by theory and principles of moral and legal rights complements excellent nursing care. Nurse’s awareness in moral and legal codes helps them control the complicated scenario encountered and direct the nurses in the best possible action answerable by law (Lachman, 2006).
In recent discussions of health care disparities, a controversial issue has been whether racism is the cause of health care disparities or not. On one hand, some argue that racism is a serious problem in the health care system. From this perspective, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) states that there is a big gap between the health care quality received by minorities, and the quality of health care received by non-minorities, and the reason is due to racism. On the other hand, however, others argue that health care disparities are not due to racism. In the words of Sally Satel, one of this view’s main proponents, “White and black patients, on average don’t even visit the same population of physicians” (Satel 1), hence this reduces the chances of racism being the cause of health care disparities. According to this view, racism is not a serious problem in the health care system. In sum, then, the issue is whether racism is a major cause of health care disparities as the Institute of Medicine argues or racism is not really an issue in the health care system as suggested by Sally Satel.
1. Legal, ethical and professional principle frameworks underpin all fields of nursing, and it is a requirement for all Registered Nurses to be competent and knowledgeable, act with integrity and maintain professional standards set out by Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2015). Working with multidisciplinary teams within our profession, it is important to acknowledge and recognise the way in which all the professionals are guided by law and their independent regulatory bodies. The needs of the individual patient is to be considered by doctors and nurses alike, who share professional values and are set out in the respective codes of practice, The Code (NMC, 2015) and GMC (2013).
Professionalism is an adherence to a set of values comprising both a formally agreed-upon code of conduct and the informal expectations of colleagues, clients and society. The key values include acting in a patient's interest, responsiveness to the health needs of society, maintaining the highest standards of excellence in the practice of medicine and in the generation and dissemination of knowledge. In addition to medical knowledge and skills, medical professionals should present psychosocial and humanistic qualities such as caring, empathy, humility and compassion, as well as social responsibility and sensitivity to people's culture and beliefs. All these qualities are expected of members of highly trained professions.
Today’s society protects against discrimination through laws, which have been passed to protect minorities. The persons in a minority can be defined as “a group having little power or representation relative to other groups within a society” (The Free Dictionary). It is not ethical for any person to discriminate based on race or ethnicity in a medical situation, whether it takes place in the private settings of someone’s home or in a public hospital. Racial discrimination, in a medical setting, is not ethical on the grounds of legal statues, moral teachings, and social standings.
Access to health does not only relate to how available the services are but also how they are delivered at the point of care. People should have access to equity healthcare which means the provision of fair goods and services and opportunities needed for the physical, psychological and spiritual health (McGibbon, Etowa & McPherson, 2008). These health services can be made available through the creation of more public clinics and hospitals. Several studies done in developing countries indicates that introducing medical user fees leads to reducing utilization which tends to affect the poor (CSDH, 2008).
A lot of information has been stipulated concerning how patients should be treated and the legal rights involved in the health care system. Different values are, therefore, involved. In the correctional setting, the patient entirely relies on the nursing service offered and various services are expected to be offered by a nurse. However, in the process of providing these services, a nurse has to uphold all ethics that dictate the profession (National Commission on Correctional Care, 2011). The legal ethics include right to autonomy where the patient’s view should be respected and incorporated in the provision of nursing care. A nurse should always tell the patient the truth according to how he or she is fairing on health wise. The principle of beneficence also allows a nurse to concentrate on provision of services that are beneficial to the patient. A registered nurse also ensures equitability and fairness in the provision of care to the patient (National Commission on Correctional Care, 2011). Another principle that a nurse understands is the principle of fidelity that allows a nurse to remain committed in the process of provision of care. The principles help a nurse in making ethical decisions in the process delivering nursing care to the patient. For instance, having in mind the principle autonomy, one can be able to appreciate an advance of health care directive that enables one to act as per the patient’s
Finally , Healthcare professionals should take appropriate action if patients right is been abused or discriminated against. Discrimination issues or problems must be treated equally and appropriate action should be taken . If healthcare professionals witness any sort of discrimination or patients report any discriminatory practices , immediate action should be taken as discrimination can have an adverse effect on the individual such as low self esteem and a sense of not belonging.
In conclusion, there are numerous legal and ethical issues apparent in the nursing practice. Nurses should study and be as informed as they can with ethics and legality within their field in order to ensure no mistakes occur. Ethical issues vary based on patient’s views, religion, and environment. Nurses are influenced by these same views, but most of the time they are not the same as the patients. As a nurse we must learn to put the care of our patients and their beliefs, rights, and wishes before our own personal