Ethical Dilemmas Every day throughout the world healthcare officials are presented with different ethical dilemmas. In the case of Jamilah Shah three of these dilemmas arise in the areas of authority to consent, beneficence versus maleficence, and autonomy. Depending on how these dilemmas are addressed can determine any future legal implications that may arise due to care that may or may not be provided. The first ethical dilemma that appears is in the area of authority to consent. When Mrs. Shah first arrived to the hospital, and it became known that she had suffered from a heart attack, the attending physician started her on anticoagulants due to difficulties in communication because of her ability to only speak basic English. When …show more content…
Shah’s stated wishes above, a third ethical dilemma comes to light with autonomy. When Mrs. Shah’s youngest son arrives he states that he is the decision maker, that he wishes there be a Do Not Resuscitate order for his mother, and that he wants no intervention of any kind except comfort care. Despite the fact the he may be the emergency contact for Mrs. Shah, this does not designate him as the durable power of attorney. There is no information provided that states that Mrs. Shah is incompetent, therefore, it must be determined that she is able to make all decisions regarding her medical care. If the doctors involved in Mrs. Shah’s case act solely based on the wishes of her son, which will result in her death within a matter of days, the hospital could be held liable by her remaining next of kin. There are multiple courses of action that could be taken to prevent the hospital involved in Mrs. Shah’s treatment from being held liable from any negative outcomes. The administrator in charge should be careful to review the medical indications, patient preferences, quality of life, and the contextual features that may be involved as laid out by the attached templates. This can be done by inputting options that would follow Bashir’s wishes, refuse Bashir’s wishes, or to delay treatment for Mrs. Shah to gather additional information and other …show more content…
Shah’s case it would be recommended to initiate three new policies within the hospital system. The first policy would be to provide a mental status screening so it can be determined if each patient is mentally capable and competent to give consent of all treatment to be provided. The second policy would be to review the patient’s medical chart for any advanced directives. This policy would allow any surrogate to be determined, and any measure that should be taken if the patient were to become incapacitated. The third policy that would benefit the hospital would be to provide an interpreter for any non-English speaking patient. This would bridge the gap in any communication barrier, due to spoken language, that may delay or prevent life-sustaining treatment from being provided. It should be noted that because a patient is unable to speak English, doesn’t mean they are incapable of making informed
The medical staff’s ethical principals were non-existent. Unfortunately since Tomcik was in an institution therefore she had no means of autonomy. She was not able to effectively make her own decisions regarding how she was to be treated. The healthcare staff did not use moral judgment throughout her care. She was ignored and not given the proper care that was needed.
The system actually failed Lia, Lia’s parent and the medical personnel at MCMC who were involved in Lia’s care. Although the doctors and nurses can be blamed why they gave prescriptions to be taken at home without ensuring understanding of the parents, why an interpreter is not present during treatment and consultation, it is also the parent’s responsibility to ask
When it comes to a patient that does not speak English the first thing we have to do is find someone capable and a professional to translate, complying with all the HIPAA regulations are being taken care of and not violated. Whether it is a live person, over the phone service or if available online. We cannot ask a family member to serve as a translator because we might break the patient confidentiality if the patient does not want anybody knowing his diagnosis and the procedures being done to them. With a deaf patient first we have to find out what is the best way to communicate with the patient if by reading lips always face them forward so they can read our lips, speaking clearly so they can understand a little better what we are trying
It is always possible to apply to a court for an order by the hospital to show cause as to why a specific treatment should not be instituted and Substitute decision-making document is not submitted (Johnson, 2011). How to prevent this painful scenario
Paradise Hill Medical Center – Case analysis 1. Recognize the background: the key of this step is to understand the medical issues involved. The medical issue in the Paradise Hill Medical Center (PHMC) was that 22 oncology patients received excessive doses of radiation therapy. The patients have not been informed yet that they received and overdose of radiation. The CEO alleged that it was the responsibility of the medical staff to inform the affected patients, and the medical team decided not to inform them about the error.
It is advised to communicate with the doctor so it can decrease the possibility that the health care decisions are not fully relied on the physician’s judgment call. There has been statistical evidence from surveys and numerous cases reported that physicians were falsely accused of showing acts of murder in the EOL care, which is another term for life support. Although that is not the case because JoAnn reports that “improving the quality of EOL care are failure to prepare an advance directive and disregard of an existing advance directive.” Overall, both the doctor and patient must make a reliability form before so the patient, at the moment who cannot make the decision, since they are unable because of their unresponsive condition. The will should describe how the patient wants to be treated but it has to be updated to specify the type of treatments that is
Potential Ethical Dilemma: Health-care practice often encountered by an ethical dilemma of who is responsible for making the end-of-life decisions for the patient. Jamilah's case study presented many ethical conflicts; however, three major ethical dilemmas to consider: The lack of an advance directives, communication barriers, and the decision to provide comfort care based on the request of one son. Advance directives are critical documents to secure while a person is healthy so that their wishes are known to everyone. Bashir has no legal grounds to make medical decisions for his mother. He is a contact person listed by the Extended Care Facility.
* Risk to self or others * Rights of service-users and safety consequence * Differing priorities between stakeholders Health and social care workers as well as care takers can fall into different dilemma related to health and social care decision. One of the dilemmas is ethical dilemma. In this context dilemma must be encountered by health and social care providers and takers.
Nurses are faced with ethical dilemmas related to clinical issues, and disease and treatment decisions daily (Kangasniemi,
Atul Gawande in his article “Whose body is it, anyway?” introduced couple of cases, which discussed a controversial topic, doctors dealing with patients and making important medical decisions. These are difficult decisions in which people might have life or death choices. Who should make the important decisions, patients or doctors? Patients don’t usually know what is better for their health and while making their decisions, they might ignore or don’t know the possible side effects and consequences of these decisions.
Communicating with a non-English speaking patient is important in providing appropriate care. Using concise communication promotes effective care for diverse patients by eliminating miscommunication that can lead to inadequate treatment. Effective communication of health information is vital in promoting individuals to take action toward their own health (Giger & Davidhizar, 2013). In the following discussion, I will address the biggest challenges in providing care to non-English speaking patients, what my facility current policy on interpreter service and what can be done to improve care for non-English speaking patients.
The four core ethical principles that are called into question in the movie “Miss Evers’ Boys” are autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. Autonomy refers to the right of the patient to function independently and the ability to self-direct. This means that patients are entitled to decide what will happen to them, and if deemed competent, they have the right to either consent to or refuse treatment. All nurses and healthcare personal would be required to respect the patient’s wishes, even if they do not agree with them. Beneficence is the core principle that refers to the act of ‘doing good’ and advocating for the patient.
I believe the most compelling reasons to give patients maximum autonomy over decisions regarding their care is because patients should have self-ownership over their own body, and the quality of life. may seem dependent on the patient’s interest over the physician’s decision. The definition of patient autonomy is to have personal freedom of one 's decision that is free from both controlling interferences by others and from personal limitations that prevent meaningful choice. While on the other hand, a physician’s duty of “beneficence” is the hippocratic oath in which action that is done for the benefit of others such as help prevent or remove harms or to simply improve the situation of others. I believe patient autonomy over weighs prioritization over the medical professional’s duty due to the fact the main concern overall is over the patient’s health.
The practice of health care includes many scenarios that have to do with making adequate decisions when it comes to a patient’s life, and the way they are treated. Having an ethical code in all health care organizations is very important, because it helps health care workers with reaching a suited and ethical decision when it comes to the patient. In health care, patient will always be put first, and their autonomy will always be respected. Nevertheless, when there is a situation where a patient might be in harm, or might be making their condition worse because of the decisions they made. Health care workers will always be there to
Ethical Issues in Healthcare There are many ethical issues facing health care at any time and it is impossible to say definitively which is the most pressing or the most important. Health care professionals are expected to base their practice on a set of ethical principles, including truthfulness, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and confidentiality. Ethical issues can arise, however, when a l professional is called upon to act in opposition to personal values or in cases where the values of patient, health care worker, and sponsoring institution conflict. The following issues are presented in no order. Neonatal Ethics Neonates are babies within their first twenty-eight days of life.