The Pros of Mandatory HIV Testing and Disclosure of HIV Status
The universal precautions of the Centers for Disease Control do not eradicate all risk to the patient or health care provider, says Baillie et al. (p. 129). While health care providers in all institutions have been educated in universal precautions, Beck, a registered nurse, cautions that some employees have failed to comply with the recommended procedures from the Centers of Disease Control. Some nurses find goggles, gloves, and other protective gear to be cumbersome to wear and/or too time consuming to put on and remove. Beck cites the case of Barbara Fassbinder, an RN documented by the CDC, who contracted AIDS by using her finger to apply pressure to a patient's intravenous site in an emergency room (p.12).
The identification of a positive HIV status would prevent the provider from performing certain 'exposure-prone' procedures that might place the patient at a higher risk for contracting AIDS from such contact (Beck, p.11). Such exposure-prone procedures include "digital palpation of a needle tip in a body cavity or the simultaneous presence of the healthcare worker's fingers and a needle or other sharp instrument or object in a poorly visualized or highly confined anatomic site" (p. 13-14).
The American Medical Association states that "the physician should err on the side of safety even when there is uncertainty about the physician's infection. In particular, the AMA believes that, if there is an identifiable risk, HIV-infected physicians have an ethical obligation either to withdraw from the case or to inform the patient of the condition" (Baillie, p. 128).
Mandatory HIV testing may provide epidemiological data.
Mandatory HIV testing may provide reliable epidemiological data. In order to plan rationally for the incidence of disease, it is necessary to know the extent of the problem. Research may provide information about the effectiveness of drugs, the demographics of the disease, and in particular, the transmissibility to patients and health care providers. "The more the public officials know about the spread of the disease, the easier it is to raise and distribute funds and to prepare hospitals and health care professionals for managing this devastating virus" (Werdel, p. 194).
Disclosure of the HIV Status
Disclosure of the HIV status of the health care provider pro...
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...y involvement in such mandatory testing, and of any revelation of positive test findings in terms of who is ultimately to be informed (Baillie, p. 291).
Concluding Discussion
Although HIV testing has its benefits, it seems that any type of mandatory testing and subsequent "public disclosure" could potentially outweigh these positives via the harm and stigmas that arise as a result. Accordingly, it seems that a voluntary approach should be the course of action that is taken, while being advocated for both by the general public, and by health care providers together. That way the people that are infected can be educated about high risk behavior, so as to begin to help stop the spread of the disease. Otherwise, mandatory tests and disclosure only work to identify the infected individuals, but really do not provide much to help their plight. With the help of advocacy for voluntary testing, perhaps society can glean the benefits from the tests and privately identify those individuals or groups at risk that wish to remain anonymous, without the negative discrimination and stigmatisms that may result from direct identifiers in terms of mandatory testing and subsequent disclosure.
Case 16 This case presents a very delicate situation that presents many legal and ethical questions. Do you tell your brother or partner he has HIV? I would tell my brother, but the how and when, may vary based on circumstances. From a professional ethical standpoint, it would be unethical to disclose the patient’s HIV status without consent.
In the New York Times article “Leave your laptops at the door to my classroom” written by Darren Rosenblum he explains why he prohibits the use of laptops in his college classroom. Rosenblum observed a senior colleague’s class and his class to discover that laptops are blocking the classroom connection between the teacher and student. Rosenblum noticed that laptops reduced a student’s education and it has become a distraction rather than allowing students to critically think and learn challenging and uncomfortable things. He believed there are two skills needed to succeed, listening and communicating, but with students using laptops it killed the connection when it was time to being listening and communicating with care. Therefore, he created
"Preventing Exposures to Bloodborne Pathogens among Paramedics." Workplace Solutions (2010): n. pag. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.
Zulueta, P de (2000). The ethics of anonymised HIV testing of pregnant women: a reappraisal . Journal of Medical Ethics, 26, 16-21.
Example, there are times when we have patients who were tested positive for HIV and after counselling still refuses to disclose their status to their spouse. The spouse is the one taking of this patient in the hospital and you can see her using her bare hands to handle the secretions of the patient despite been warned to use latex gloves. As a nurse or doctor you understand the implication of it and understand fully well that the wife might also be positive. The patient is already on anti-retroviral drugs and is responding gradually but the wife on the other hand knows nothing. The law permits for the wife to be told about the husband's status and she also counselled to undergo the test. If it comes out positive then the treatment is commenced immediately. The treatment will help to increase her CD4 count and save her life. In some cases HIV patient instead of telling their family members to take precautionary measures when caring for them they don’t and the life of this care givers is put at stake. In such cases the nurses can only ensure that their caregivers are educated on proper use of hand gloves to proper themselves especially when dealing with secretions from patient
The modern guitar can be easily acknowledged as one of the most influential and renown instruments in the world. The guitar recognized today has been around for hundreds of years and it is still leaving a legacy in the musical world. Some early iterations of the guitar dating back as far as 1400 BC have evolved into what is known as the modern guitar through design innovation.
Innovations are put forth everyday but few leave a lasting effect on their field. Whether it is the combustion engine in transportation, television in entertainment or the electric guitar in music. It is difficult to turn on the radio or any music player and avoid the ubiquity of the guitar. It has had a continuous reign on the music industry for the past century and is becoming even more popular with the addition of endless overdrive effects. The origin of this amazing instrument can be traced back hundreds of years and countless miles. Along the way many new additions were implemented. Some of which are featured in every guitar produced nowadays, including scoops, cutaways, and sound holes. The sound hole is the hole in the center in which the sound travels through, the number and size can vary based on what sort of sound needed. Scoops are the flexed indents on the sides on which the guitars rests on the players leg, and a cutaway is a portion of the base of the neck that looks like it has been removed for easier access to the higher frets. Many variations of the electric guitar have been produced to this day and each one has had an effect on its progression and impact in the realm of musical instruments
Many people argue that by using laptops during lectures, students are able to actively participate in the class and they have better communication with the professors despite large class sizes (Fried, 2008, p.2). Through classroom resources such as university and course online platforms, students are able to access the information they are learning about in their lectures. However, students themselves also have a very particular view on this topic, as they are very protective over their belongings and do not want to have their laptops banned from the classroom: “more and more faculty are banning laptops from their classrooms because of perceptions that they distract students and detract from learning,” (Fried, 2008, p.1). Prohibiting the use of laptops in university classrooms is becoming a more common solution to multitasking and student distraction. Universities enforce this regulation in order to prevent distraction and multitasking from impacting a students and surrounding student’s academic
The electric guitar has greatly impacted how music was played in the past, the present, or the future. Players can be creative and achieve a great sound from the wide variety of guitars, pickups, pedals, or amps. Whatever type of music you enjoy, everyone should appreciate the importance of the electric guitar.
Patient safety must be the first priority in the health care system, and it is widely accepta-ble that unnecessary harm to a patient must be controlled.Two million babies and mother die due to preventable medical errors annually worldwide due to pregnancy related complications and there is worldwide increase in nosocomial infections, which is almost equal to 5-10% of total admissions occurring in the hospitals. (WHO Patient Safety Research, 2009). Total 1.4 million patients are victims of hospital-acquired infection. (WHO Patient Safety Research, 2009). Unsafe infection practice leads to 1.3 million death word wide and loss of 26 millions of life while ad-verse drug events are increasing in health care and 10% of total admitted patients are facing ad-verse drug events. (WHO Patient Safety Re...
Lovett, Haley A. "Students Using Laptops in Class Do Worse on Tests." FindingDulcinea. 29 Sept. 2010. Web. 15 Sept. 2010. http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/education/2009/march/Students-Using-Laptops-in-Class-Do-Worse-on-Tests.html
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