Premium Essay

Law and Ethics Case Study

In:

Submitted By kflyy
Words 509
Pages 3
Kacey Pierre
July 31, 2012
HSC 4652
Case #6

As providers and health care professionals, there will be many times when we will be faced with decisions that need to be made in the best interest of the patient. Moreover, there may be rare occasions when we will have to make decisions in order to protect a patient’s dignity or self esteem. Although the primary goal as providers and health care professionals is to deliver quality healthcare to patients while honoring autonomy and honesty and keeping the patient thoroughly informed, in special cases such as this one, it is a more beneficial to the patient for the provider to refrain from disclosing his current health condition to him. This case was about a 69 year old male that is diagnosed with cancer of the prostate, at which point, is inoperable and incurable. He has no living relatives, his wife is passed away, and he estranged from his children. This patient has proven incapable of making sound decisions when he is presented with devastating news. He is neurotic and has a history of psychiatric disease. He had previously attempted suicide and suffered from serious depression for a long period of time both after receiving news of his wife’s death and anytime he is informed of any serious health problems. Under normal circumstances, a physician or any healthcare provider is required to keep the patient fully informed of their health condition, whether it be good or bad. We as professionals are required to respect a patient’s autonomy, especially through informed consent, no matter what a physician’s decision may be as to provide or withhold treatment for whatever appropriate reason. However, every patient; hence, every case will be different. In this case the patient, first and foremost, has a condition at which point is deemed incurable, inoperable and essentially un treatable at this point. I support the

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Ethics Case Study-Medical Law & Ethics

...Misty Bagwell Week 2 HCS 335 Ethics Case Study-Medical Law & Ethics Jerry McCall is Dr. William’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 professional 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? First before we get into the matter we need to describe what a medical assistant’s job is and what tasks that they perform. A medical assistant’s roll is to complete the administrative and clinical tasks in the office for physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other health practitioners to help make their jobs just a little bit easier. The jobs for a medical assistant will vary due to the location of a practice, the specialty of the practice, and size of the practice. A medical assistant’s job is to help a doctor with the administrative part in the office and the clinical duties so that a doctor will be able to see and receive patients a whole lot faster. A medical assistant must have graduated from an accredited program and they also have to pass a national certification exam. Does Jerry’s medical training qualify him to...

Words: 1109 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Business Law and Ethics Case Study on Diversity

...Case #1 Webb vs. City of Philadelphia This case involves Kimberlie Webb and the City of Philadelphia (mainly the police department). The case was heard by the United States court of appeals, third circuit in 2009. The suit was filed because Webb believed her religious rights were being decimated against. Webb is a Muslim woman who servers on the Philadelphia Police Department. Webb asked permission to wear a headdress that would not cover her face or ears due to her religious beliefs. She was disciplined for failing to comply with Police Department Directive 78 (which basically states that all officers must wear a certain uniform and dress in a certain way in order to appear uniform and unbiased). The Philadelphia Police Department stated that in order to obtain their overall collectiveness could not allow Webb to wear her headdress because it would be obvious what her religious beliefs were and would allow citizens to see that the Police Department is impartial, meaning they could lose the trust and respect of the community. The Judges in this case dismiss the case because for a group of people to be uniform (collectively similar) their cannot be any appearance of religion and that all those who serve must appear neutral to better server the community. Anything to separate identity could be costly when it comes to the overall good of protection. The Judge(s) decide this because if it seems that the police department is partial then citizens may not or will not...

Words: 1186 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Ethics

...principles. 1.3 Describe problem-solving methodologies. Readings Read Ch. 1 of Health Care Ethics. Read Ch. 1 & 2 of Medical Law and Ethics. Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. Read the Week One Read Me First. Participation Participate in class discussion. 4/10/2014 1 Discussion Questions Respond to weekly discussion questions. 4/10/2014 1 Nongraded Activities and Preparation Ethics Case Study Begin working on the Ethics Case Study due in Week Two. Learning Team Instructions Begin working on the Code of Ethics Paper due in Week Three. Review the Week One objectives and discuss additional insights and questions that may have arisen Individual Health Care Ethics Matching Exercise Complete the Health Care Ethics Matching Exercise, located on your student website. Match keywords commonly used in health care ethics to the definitions on the page. Discuss the exercise in class and turn in your answer sheet to your facilitator. 4/10/2014 15 Week Two: Application of Ethics Within Individual Organizations Details Due Points Objectives 2.1 Describe ethical principles used in health care organizations. 2.2 Explain the relationship between an organization’s culture and ethical decision-making. 2.3 Recognize the role and importance of ethical values within an organization. Readings Read Ch. 3 & 5 of Health Care Ethics. Read Ch. 8 of Medical Law and Ethics. Read this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. Read the Week Two Read Me First. ...

Words: 751 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Laws 310 Week 1 Homework

...Case Analysis 1. The double jeopardy claim can be supported by facts in the sense that Falkowsi had entered a pleas which was unconditional in nature on November, 1992. The case in October, 1992 which stated that the Government had taken action in the property seizure of illegal marijuana plantation. The civil case was taken up at the Fairbanks. Also on the charge of possession of marijuana a criminal case was ledged Anchorage. So Falkwski was tired of the same case both the times and so this was a case of double jeopardy. 2. The questions before the court were to identify the elements of the criminal offense. I believe the legal questions were the cultivation, distribution of marijuana, and forfeiture of a property acquired through drug trafficking. 3. Forfeiture describes the process where a civil court, after the initial restraint, and after all the interested parties have had a chance to make their case, orders that ownership of the property changes. The new owner could be a victim, a group of victims, or the provincial government (who will pay the revenue to victims programs). This action is not part of the criminal process and is independent of that. It is not another form of criminal punishment. Page 13 Questions 1. Law is the system of rules that regulates the actions of people and may enforce by imposition of penalties. 2. The Civil Law legal system originated in Europe which is based on the Roman Law. Civil law is a group of legal ideas and...

Words: 556 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Police Use Brutality

...People in law enforcement, intelligence and I thank God every night we have them standing fast to protect us from the tremendous amount of evil that exists in the world” by Brad Thor, describes clearly about police, and they have seen as a shield for civilians. They can protect civilians from the harms from criminals. On the other hand, a lot of civilians get over harm during law enforcement. If we want police to become better effect for communities, the top priority is that we need reduce the police use of excessive force. First of all, police should wear body camera to reduce police brutality. According to the article, “Self-Awareness to Being Watched and Socially-Desirable Behavior: A Field Experiment on the Effect of Body-Worn Cameras on Police Use-of-Force." By Barak Ariel, PhD describes “body cameras can give police some limitation by creating self-awareness. (8)” Once they want to abuse their power, they will think that they can get punishment from those evidences recorded by cameras. Second of all, ethics training reduces excessive force significantly. Furthermore, it can improve police ethics during the law enforcement, and it will help them thinking before they pull trigger. As a final point, police department should enforce laws and maintain order of excessive force when police officers are during law enforcement. Moreover, it will reduce the negative outcomes and complaints for police. First of all, body-worn camera can improve police`s self-awareness during law enforcement...

Words: 1350 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Ethics Case Study

...Ethics Case Study Heather Holcomb University of Phoenix Ethics: Health Care and Social Responsibility HCS 335 Deborah Laughon RN BSN MS DBA January 23, 2012 Ethics Case Study Case Study Jerry McCall is Dr. William’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 mediation, 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? (Fremgen, 2009). Overview Health care providers are faced with making difficult ethical decisions everyday. Moral and value systems influence the ethical decision process, but the law and licensure regulations do as well. This case study is an example of a potential ethical dilemma and a possible breach of the law. The following questions will be explored: 1. Does Jerry’s medical training qualify him to issue this refill order? 2. Would it make a difference if the medication is for controlling high blood pressure that the patient critically needs on a daily basis? 3. 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...

Words: 1135 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Ehtics and Law in Nursing

...QUESTION TWO: ADULT CASE STUDY, AN ETHICAL ISSUE OF CONSENT. This essay presents a critical incident analysis of a 70 years old man refusing to give consent to a life saving treatment. The essay will discuss its impact by discussing the conflict between professional and the patient’s issues. It will go on to explain the main professional issues in the scenario, breach of any NMC code of conduct and show how they relate to the guidelines set by Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). It will also highlight on the relevant underlying legal or ethical principles that applies to the case study and its implications. For instance, ethical principles, such as beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, justice, human rights and the best interests of the patient will be explored, in the light of relevant laws, in order to show some of the legal and ethical complexities within this case study, and finally draw a conclusion. For confidentiality purposes, have been changed in accordance to the NMC guidelines. The main professional issue reflected in this case study is the issue of consent. Consent, means to give permission for something to take place or to agree to do something (oxford dictionary 1998). This does not necessitate that, the actions approved have been developed or permission given in the knowledge of possible consequences known as informed consent has been achieved. This goes to show that, for medical purposes, although the patient has the right to refuse treatment, he has to also...

Words: 2648 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Ethics and Law in Nursing

...Dilemmas and D'Legals: Ethics and Law in Nursing Marsha Brice, Barbara Gong, Holly Lavely, Lindsey Talbot, Loveda Turnage NUR/391 August 6, 2012 Esther Van Baren Dilemmas and D'Legals: Ethics and Law in Nursing Every day nurses are confronted with situations that lead them to question their ethics and the legal duties of their profession. Both dilemmas are presented for examination and discussion in this class via two scenarios. In the first case scenario, the family of a victim of a hemorrhagic stroke must decide what measures they want the hospital staff to take to either sustain her life or if they want to deny any or all life-saving steps. In this instance, the father and children are at odds in their decision. The next case presents malpractice lawsuit scene where a nurse is called to testify on behalf of the patient against the negligent nurse and hospital. While these situations are vastly different, they share two inherent questions: What is the ethical thing to do? What is the nurse’s legal obligation? Each case study produced different legal questions. In the first case study the family of the patient could not agree on a course of action. There was no advance directive and the patient was not conscious. The husband of the patient in this case is the legal next of kin and is therefore legally responsible for making health care decisions for his wife when she is unable to do so. The children of the patient could challenge their father in court...

Words: 1502 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Court Visit

...|Course Code: JUST 20025 |[pic] | | |Course Outlines | |Course Name (Long): | | | | | |Diversity, Values and Ethics in Public Safety | | Section I: Administrative Information |Course Name (Short): Diversity, Values and Ethics |Credit Value: 3.0 | |Program(s): Police Foundations |Credit Value Notes: | |Program Coordinator(s): Michael Lloyd |Effective Term: Jan 2011 | |Course Leader or Contact: Stephanie Dimech |Prerequisites: None | | |Corequisites: None | | ...

Words: 1282 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Business Ethics

...BUSINESS ETHICS Name Institution of Affiliation Introduction The business environment is changing to embrace ethical conduct in the performance of duties and activities of individuals in professional setting. Nowadays, companies are exposed to public scrutiny where their corporate social responsibility and social accountability are assessed. A shift towards rethinking the various functions of a business entity to encompass ethics into their daily management activities has been undertaken as entities seek to be market leaders. Business ethics encompasses the relationship the company has with the employees, customers, shareholders and the community. Business ethics is the analysis of business activities and situations where issues pertaining what constitute a right or wrong act are dealt with through institutional processes (Jennings, 2011). Consequently, ethics involves ascertaining good practices from bad practices based on the context of morals. On the other hand, moral conduct is the behaviour exhibited by human beings that can either be right or wrong depending on the context whereas business ethics. Business ethics can be viewed from two distinct perspectives; descriptive ethics and normative ethics. Normative ethics ascribes to the justification of moral systems whereas descriptive ethics depicts what ethical practices are. Ideally, the paper will delve into more details concerning what business ethics entails and the importance of business ethics to individuals...

Words: 1492 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Case Study

...Chapter 1 ETHICS & BUSINESS ETHICS AN INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS Ethics is not a recent discovery. Over the centuries philosophers in their struggle with human behavior have developed different approaches to ethics, each leading to different conclusion. The word “Ethics” which is coined from the Latin word ‘Ethics’ and Greek word ‘ethikos’ pertains to character. Ethics is thus said to be the science of conduct. As a matter of fact it deals with certain standard of human conduct and morals. The field of ethics involves systematizing, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. Ethics is a mass of moral principles or set of values about what is right or wrong, true or false, fair or unfair, proper or improper, what is right is ethical and what is wrong is unethical. MEANING AND DEFINITION OF ETHICS Peter F. Drucker writes- “There is only one ethics, one set of rules of morality, one code that of individual behavior in which the same rules apply to everyone alike.” Philip Wheel Wright says- “Ethics is the branch of philosophy which is the systematic study of selective choice, of the standards of right and wrong and by which it may ultimately be directed.” Swami Vivekananda has set the tone for ethics. He says- “Supreme oneness is the rationale of all ethics and morality. Ethics cannot be derived from the mere sanction to any personage. Some eternal principle of truth has the sanction of ethics. Where is the eternal sanction to be found except...

Words: 7802 - Pages: 32

Premium Essay

Ethics Trainin for Public Officers

...ACN Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Ethics Training for Public Officials A study prepared by the OECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ACN) and SIGMA, a joint EU-OECD initiative, principally financed by the EU, in co-operation with the OECD Public Sector Integrity Network March 2013 ACN Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia ETHICS TRAINING FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS A study prepared by the OECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ACN) and SIGMA, a joint EU-OECD initiative, principally financed by the EU, in co-operation with the OECD Public Sector Integrity Network This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the European Union, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the OECD and its Member countries or of the beneficiary countries participating in the SIGMA Programme. This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. The OECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern and Central Europe The Anti-Corruption Network (ACN) is a regional outreach programme of the OECD Working Group on Bribery. The ACN is open to countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The main counterparts are...

Words: 31902 - Pages: 128

Premium Essay

Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing

...called upon to testify against a current employer. The American Nurses Association Code of Nursing Ethics is one of the main tools available for the nurse to utilize when it comes to making these tough decisions. The nurse may apply personal values as well as societal values to these cases in order to come to a sound, ethical decision. The legal aspects of each of these cases can have a profound effect on the continuing career of the nurse, a thorough evaluation is necessary to protect all involved. Finally, the nurse also carries a legal responsibility to her profession, workplace, patients, and self. Ethical and legal decision-making are complex but after a thorough assessment, the nurse can continue to make an ethically and legally sound judgment on how to proceed. Influence of the ANA Code of Nursing Ethics The ANA Code of Nursing Ethics is the first reference when deciding how to proceed with an incapacitated patient who has no advanced directive or how a nurse should react when called upon to testify against an employer in a negligence or malpractice case. This code, designed to assist the nurse in maintaining his or her ethical integrity as well as protect the nurse and patient during ethical dilemmas, is the foundation for ethical decision making (Blais & Hayes). According to American Nursing Association (2001), the nurse should place the patient first in both of these cases. The nurse’s top priority and legal responsibility is to the safety and wellbeing of the patients...

Words: 1176 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Ethical and Legal Issues in Nursing

...legal issues will be reviewed concerning the decisions and responsibilities of the nurse in the case of Marianne who has had a stroke and the decisions that the family is facing for treatment or end of life care. The legal and ethical issues in a malpractice case that occurred several years ago and the responsibility of the nurse to her employer, the nurse being sued, the client in question, and the institution’s client will be reviewed. The areas that will be reviewed include how the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics would influence a final decision in each case study, how personal and societal values can influence the ethical decision making, the fundamental legal aspects of each case study, and the legal responsibility of the nurse in the work setting. The ANA code of Ethics must be followed in practice and is an especially useful tool when there are difficult legal and ethical issues that arise in nursing practice. In the example of the malpractice case for negligence, as a witness to questionable practice, it is the nurse’s primary responsibility to protect the safety of the patient. Although the nurse was correct in reporting the episode to administration, she also had a duty to counsel the nurse about the inappropriate standard of care. The ANA is clear that when a nurse is aware of questionable practice the person must be confronted with the concern ("Code Of Ethics for Nurses With Interpretive Statements", 2010). Furthermore, if the nurse was asked at if she...

Words: 1444 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Euthanasia

...Press 0521804167 - Euthanasia, Ethics and Public Policy: An Argument Against Legalisation John Keown Frontmatter More information EUTHANASIA, ETHICS AND PUBLIC POLICY An Argument against Legalisation Whether the law should permit voluntary euthanasia or physicianassisted suicide is one of the most vital questions facing all modern societies. Internationally, the main obstacle to legalisation has proved to be the objection that, even if they were morally acceptable in certain hard cases, voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide could not be effectively controlled; society would slide down a slippery slope to the killing of patients who did not make a free and informed request, or for whom palliative care would have offered an alternative. How cogent is this objection? This book provides the general reader (who need have no expertise in philosophy, law or medicine) with a lucid introduction to this central question in the debate, not least by reviewing the Dutch euthanasia experience. It will interest readers in any country, whether for or against legalisation, who wish to ensure that their opinions are better informed. john keown is Senior Lecturer in the Law and Ethics of Medicine, Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge. His previous publications include Abortion, Doctors and the Law (1988) and Euthanasia Examined (1995). © Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 0521804167 - Euthanasia, Ethics and Public Policy: An Argument...

Words: 3306 - Pages: 14