Ethics study
Student discussion must be a minimum of 150 200 original words and supported by academic, peerreviewed references (at least 1). Whenever possible, please try to relate the course content to realworld applications from your work experience.Reflect critical thought and an integration of the key themes and concepts from the readings. 1. Using the readings how might a manager deal with elements of an organization's culture that are, or are perceived as, inconsistent? Garrett, T. M., Baillie, H. W., & Garrett, R. M. (2009). Health care ethics: Principles and problems (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: PrenticeHall. 2. Professional secrecy is the most obligatory of all secrets, as the violation of confidentiality damages not only the patient, but also the sacredness of promises and the good of society and the profession. Professional secrets can be shared in legitimate medical consultations and revealed for proportionate reasons or when there are proper statutory or courtimposed exceptions. There is also an exception to confidentiality in special relationships, which are not true provider–patient relationships.
Scenario 1: Xavier has been the Loyolas’ family doctor for more than 20 years. He is shocked when Mary, the 16yearold daughter, comes to tell him that she is pregnant and wants his help in getting an abortion. Because abortions are against Dr. Xavier’s conscience, he refuses. He also informs the parents of Mary’s condition and her intentions. Can the physician justify his action by the use of proportionality between good and evil effects? The good of the profession and the society must be considered in answering the question. Why did a British medical society publicly reprimand this physician? Scenario 2: George Smallwood has gonorrhea. He does not want to tell his wife, but does want to protect her from the disease. While undergoing treatment, he asks the family physician to test his wife without her knowing it. When the wife comes in with a bad case of bronchitis, the physician tests her, saying, “I just want to run another test on you to rule out a possibility, a mere possibility, you understand.” He finds that she has been infected and treats her without her knowing the diagnosis. He merely tells her, “I want you to take these antibiotics as a precaution.” In this way, he protects the husband. Is the family physician deceiving the wife by suppressing the information? Is his medical treatment of the wife ethical? Suppose that the disease were AIDS. Does this change the ethics? 3. Does a professional code determine what is ethically correct for those who are not members, or only for members? How can these codes help professionals do the right thing in the various practice environments discussed in the readings?
Reference: Fremgen, B. F. (2009). Medical law and ethics (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. 4. A good example of a professional code of ethics in health care would be the nursing profession. Kangasniemi. Pakkanen, and Korhonen (2015) have made a good summary of how this code may impact how nurses work in a changing healthcare environment. They state: "Professional ethics consist of values, duties, rights and responsibilities, regulated by national legislation and international agreements and detailed in professional codes. Professional ethics is well established in nursing, but is constantly changing due to internal and external factors affecting the profession" (Epub ahead of print). Other organizations, like the Medical Group Management Association and the American College of Healthcare Executives, publish statements about the role of professional standards of practice in health care. Can you think of any others? References: American College of Healthcare Executives (2015). ACHE's ethical policy statements. Retrieved from http://www.ache.org/policy/index_ethics.cfm Kangasniemi M1, Pakkanen P, Korhonen A. (2015). Professional ethics in nursing: an integrative review. Journal of Advanced Nursing 2015 Jan 19. doi: 10.1111/jan.12619. Medical Group Management Association (2015). Advancing leaders, advancing practices. Retrieved from http://www.mgma.com/ 5. Identify the principal kinds of illegal discrimination that result in unequal employment opportunities. How do you respond to an illegal interview question? Isn’t it important for an employer to know if a potential employee has a disability? Why or why not? Should all healthcare employees be tested for HIV? Why or why not? 6. Read and discuss the article: Towards healthy professionalclient relationships: the value of an interprofessional training course http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19142780 7. Attach and separate from questions 1 to 6. Read the case study: Jerry McCall is Dr. Williams’s office assistant. He has received professional training as both a medical assistant and a LPN. He is handling all the phone calls while the receptionist is at lunch. A patient calls and says he must have a prescription refill for Valium, an antidepressant medication, called in right away to his pharmacy, since he is leaving for the airport in thirty minutes. He says that Dr. Williams is a personal friend and always gives him a small supply of Valium when he has to fly. No one except Jerry is in the office at this time. What should he do? Prepare a 700 to 1050word paper in which you answer the following questions: Does Jerry’s medical training qualify him to issue this refill order? Why or why not?
Would it make a difference if the medication requested were for control of high blood pressure that the patient critically needs on a daily basis? Why or why not? If Jerry calls in the refill and the patient has an adverse reaction while flying, is Jerry protected from a lawsuit under the doctrine of respondent superior? What is your advice to Jerry? Identify major legal and ethical issues that may affect Jerry’s decision. What problemsolving methods might be helpful to assist in making an ethical decision? Include at least two sources in your paper. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.