...Medical Ethics and Euthanasia In his essay “When Medicine Is Futile” Barron H. Lerner talks about how dying patients in America, in his opinion can not have a peaceful death. Important role in his writing represents his dad and his thinking. He has a big influence on Lerner`s opinion about the medicine in general. He argues that people die too many times connected to all kinds of machines and tubes that don`t really help them. Lerner describes some of the stories that his father kept in the journals. They have one common thing, and that is that event though the doctors knew the patients is going to die, his family was still hoping for a miracle and they did not want to accept that there is nothing that the doctors can do, to save the patient`s life. Reading and thinking about Lerner`s article lead me to ask myself; is it really true that there are no chances at all to save any patient? I think we should all still keep faith and stay optimistic that things will go better, no matter what situation we find ourselves in. In connection to that when we think about medicine, here comes the controversial problem about euthanasia. Should it be legalized and what are the pros and cons of it? Euthanasia is one of the most pressing issues of modern society. The development of medicine has put humanity against serious dilemma where the use of medical resources no longer offers the cure. As it is developing in many areas, there are still those areas where we ask ourselves; what to do...
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...Title: Medical Ethics: History and Guiding Principles Author: Alan J. McGoldrick Course: Medicine, Disease and History Instructor: Professor Foss Date: June 15, 2012 Medical ethics are the moral guidelines and ethical laws that help to prioritize a medical professional's work responsibilities. The code of medical ethics outlines the proper conduct between medical professionals and their patients, communities, and colleagues. Each country has a different code of medical ethics, though most contain the same basic principles, and all share the same history of evolution, according to the World Medical Association. Medical ethics refers to the discussion and application of moral values and responsibilities in the areas of medical practice and research. While questions of medical ethics have been debated since the beginnings of Western medicine in the fifth century B.C., medical ethics as a distinctive field came into prominence only since World War II. (Porter, 1998) This change has come about largely as a result of advances in medical technology, scientific research, and telecommunications. These developments have affected nearly every aspect of clinical practice, from the confidentiality of patient records to end-of-life issues. Moreover, the increased involvement of government in medical research as well as the allocation of health care resources brings with it an additional set of ethical questions. Emerging Medical Ethics Through the Ages Ancient Medical Texts ...
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...Kacy Noble Medical Research and Ethics HCS/ 435 March 7, 2011 Patricia Tobin Ph.D., LCSW Medical Research and Ethics In the medical field ethics plays a large role in dictating what is deemed acceptable. The role of ethics has changed drastically over the past hundred years. There are many well-known unethical medical studies that have taken place in the past. Current research is being questioned by ethics professionals as well. The difference between now and then is our resources. Now, thee are ethics committees who help make these fragile decisions. Research much now be approved and follow rigorous standards. Ethics has changed drastically and will continue to evolve, hopefully for the better, in the future. Many of the well-known ethics cases involving research are highly publicized. The ethical research case I chose is not as well known. Possible reasons of the lack of publicity might be because the participants were not physically hurt nor were their health statuses altered. William Laud Humphreys managed to produce research that is ethically wrong in which none of the participants were named or harmed. Could this be why his research is still discussed in many universities today? William Laud Humphreys was born October 16, 1930. Laud had two brothers whom he was never close to and did not have a favorable opinion of his father (TWU, 2010). Humphreys graduated from Seabury-Western theological seminary in 1955. He was then baptized and changed his name from William...
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...Virtue ethics is one out of three major parts of normative ethics. As the word ‘virtue’ describes the whole concept of virtue ethics i.e. it points to a set of character which leads to good behaviour. It portrays the behaviour of an individual not overall society. It includes the behaviour of a person towards others and is based on moral characters and virtues. Virtue ethics helps in encouraging people to adapt good behaviour in order to attain a good life. It is not based on duties or consequences unlike other two normative ethics. Virtue ethics indicate to help other because it is the kind thing to do. For example helping a old women to cross the road, is the kind thing to do but in helping her you are not getting any benefit it just a act of kindness. Virtue ethics add lots to morality as sometimes, there is necessity to think more than duty and consequences as a life exist between a person’s duty and consequences. Ethics of care often considered a part of virtue ethics. This theory also describes the character of individual and not of society as whole. It is based on the emotional relation i.e. friendship, care etc of an individual with other people. It gives significance to humanity and relationship with human. Family comes in the first step of care ethics. For example if a person mother is suffering from cancer in the last stage, and plead to award her death in order to free her from suffering and not be more burden on other family members. Ethics of caring is also...
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...Ethics Paper The book I chose to use for my ethics paper was called Medical Ethics by Philip A. Pecorino. Pecorino defines ethics as, “to establish principles of the GOOD and those of right behavior Ethics deals with the basic principles that serve as the basis for moral rules. Different principles will produce different rules.”(Pecorino, Sec. 2) This quote, to me means that those that have good ethics will also have good morals and that you cannot have one without the other. Both this book and the academic integrity seminar have taught me how to make sure I can have both good morals and good ethics. In the book Pecorino says that many people believe good morals come from religion but according to him, “religion is dependent upon and follows...
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...Association of Medical Assistants, offers a Certified Medical Assistant Certification for those who have obtained the required education through an accredited medical assistant program (American Association of Medical Assistants). The Medical Assistant’s professional Code of Ethics is a guide I can always refer back to when my ethical responsibilities are being tested, or when I am in doubt whether a certain situation is ethical or not. It is a reminder of why I choose this career, dedicating myself to the care and wellbeing of all people. For Medical Assistants, there are three certifying agencies available within the state of California, where I reside: American Association of Medical Assistants, where you can obtain a “NCCA” Accreditation (aama-nh.org), American Medical Technologists RMA certification, where you can obtain a AMT certification (amt1.com), and California Certifying Board of Medical Assistants where you can obtain a California Certified Medical Assistant (CCMA) certification (ccbma.org). The “Scope of Practice” determines the boundaries that a physician, or other medical professional practices. In entails the range of responsibilities and practice guidelines (medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com). The American Association of Medical Assistants determines this (aama.ntl.org). Three of the standards of professionalism that are based on the codes of ethics for Medical Assistants are: Seek to continually improve the knowledge and skills of the Medical Assistant...
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...The ECM Assignment In the medical office, the Medical Administrative Assistants should possess using all of these human skills such as communication skills, to coordinate, and to motivate people, and to mold individuals into cohesive team. One of these human skills I think a Medical Administrative Assistant should use is communication. A communication skill is a big factor when working in a medical office because you have to deal with patients and even with your coworkers, especially with your managers and supervisors. You have to speak professionally in the medical office because you set an example for other coworkers and patients will respect you more if they see professionalism. One example of a medical administrative assistant using communication is talking to patients about their health, writing down their medical history, scheduling their appointments, and emailing reminders to patients about their schedule appointments. See communication goes a long way when you are socializing in a medical office and asking patient’s questions about their health or seeing what the reason is for them coming into the office. Planning activities in the medical office is important for the medical administrative assistant because they have to preform duties that are related to the healthcare industry. They may have to do some general administrative duties which may include answering the phone, filing papers, greeting patients and visitors, ordering supplies, and other duties. Some duties...
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...Quaestiones Disputate #3) Whether it is ethical to keep a person alive if their quality of life is not good and will not improve. In such a case, what is the responsibility of the medical profession? The following argument will be made toward the negative, suggesting that it is intrinsically unethical to keep a person alive under certain circumstances The first issue to address is the sub-components of the Quaestione in order to better set the argument in motion as a proof. The Quaestione can be divided up into the following components [whether it is ethical to keep a person alive] , [if their quality of life is not good] , [and will not improve]. , [In such a case, what is the responsibility] , [of the medical profession[->0]]. The first component is, in a general sense, unarguable. Standing alone, the statement of keeping someone alive bears a right to which every human is morally obliged to uphold. They key here is standing alone....Of course society’s code of conduct says that we must preserve life, but this can only be true to a sense until the next issue is incorporated - what if their life is not good? What exactly is not good? If we take it from an Aristotelean point of view, we can see that Aristotle claimed that happiness or good living - being happy, healthy, prosperous, and flourishing - is the goal of human life[->1] and the basis of all ethical behavior[->2]. This eudaimonia that he begins to describe is an end, in a sense that that goal...
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...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 issue...
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...Medical codes of ethics are very similar to one another no matter what field you are in. Take the code of conduct for nurse and the code for physical therapist assistants for example; they are two different professions that take almost the same route of creating a safe environment for patients. Let’s take a look at the code for respect in the APTA Guide’s Standard 1A it states, “Physical therapist assistants shall act in a respectful manner toward each person regardless of age, gender, race, nationality, etc.” The code simply says that you should treat patients how you would like to be treated if you were in their shoes. The ANA’s code for respect takes it one step further in Provision 1 by stating that nurses should “practice with compassion...
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...My new solution that might mitigate the conflicts of interest between medical ethics and public health would be better research and education. Public health ethics are a fairly new topic. As the public health becomes more prominent, there will be more and more issues that arise (Callahan & Jennings, 2002). One of the ways to combat the conflicts between medical ethics and public health ethics is through more education. While education is not a new theory, how it this can be handled it. There has to be a method that teaches medical professionals to think outside of the box in a more contested and ethical way (Gaare-Bernheim, 2003). There would need to be a curriculum to incorporate not only the repercussions to the individual and upholding...
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...“It is a mistake to reject religious principles in favour of secular/ethical principles for guidance in medical ethics” A religion such as Christianity has rules and guidelines that are made by the Church using teachings and bible scriptures so that Christians can live a moral life to achieve an afterlife. An example of this is the Ten Commandments that was given to Moses which contain laws such as ‘thy shall not steal’ and ‘thy shall not kill’. These laws were giving to Moses so that people would do the right and good things. Secular principles such as Utilitarianism and laws made by the government for non-religious people to use as guidance to outline the right and wrong. Within this essay, I will examine how religion is a part of the rationing and prioritising sector when it comes to healthcare resources as well as the advantages and disadvantages when using non-secular principles when distributing resources. Beauchamp and Childress’ Four Principles of Biomedical Ethics are respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice. This is one of the ethical principles that are being used by the NHS. The four principles are there to be used equally and fair when choosing the best decision for a situation of medical treatment. Autonomy means that you should respect a patient’s decision by giving them all the information they need to make their financial decision. Autonomy suggests that patients should be the ones to make their decisions and not healthcare professionals...
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...Jerry McCall Ethics Case Study Overview This is an USA pseudo-case diverged from the following Medical and Ethics Textbook case study in Ch. 4 of Medical Law and Ethics that gives insight to medical – ethics and their applications (Fremgen, 2010, p. 85). Jerry McCall is Dr. Williams’s office assistant. He has received professional training as both a medical assistant and an 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 and that the provider, a friend, calls in the medication prior to any flights. This type of request happens often and in slightly different scenarios, but the outcome should remain the same to avoid ethical and legal issues. This paper will review the case study to help resolve the problem, the ethics involved, and the medical responsibility to refilling a prescription without provider authorization. Qualified Medical Training Understanding the definitions of a licensed practical nurse, LPN, and a medical assistant, MA is the first step to making a factual conclusion for this case study. Support staff to the provider cannot make decisions about medication refills for patients without a direct order from the provider. This action is outside the scope of practice for an LPN or MA. Licensed Practical Nurse An LPN is a role in support of the nurse or RN, a registered Nurse usually in a skilled nursing setting such as a hospital or long-term care facility...
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...Baron Muth 6/23/2016 PHIL3232-476 Take Home Test #1 Question 2 When a person becomes sick and they most likely cannot take care of themselves, they tend to seek out help. It is with this help , people come in the hopes of getting better and fighting off whichever ailments they are bothered by. The main person responsible for curing the patients, or rather help ease their ailments are the doctor. The doctor is responsible for making sure the person they are treating recieves the best care possible. In order to treat the patient, a relationship between the doctor and patient must be established. Each side of this relationship has a responsibility. The patient is repsonsible for trusting the doctors instinics and following their discretion to get well. In this relationship, doctor maintians their oath, expertise and professional responisiblites in seeing the patient overcomes whatever issue they are dealing with. An issue that can arise in a patient-doctor relationship is when the patient decides to refuse treatment. When a patient is not on board with the doctors regimen, it becomes difficukt to continue treating them. This confilct comes down to the classic debate between the physciains "oaths, expertise and professional responsibilites and the patients right to make decisins. If a person is not comfortable with the way their doctor is handling their case, or feels as if the doctor is wrong with the way they have been treated so far, the patient will and can refuse...
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...Discuss the concepts of consent and capacity and give examples of case law in respect to capacity (especially adults lacking capacity), how to assess capacity and the best interests of the patients. Consent is the principle that a person must give their permission before they receive any type of treatment. Consent is required from a patient regardless of the treatment type being undertaken. Patients do not have to undergo treatment because a healthcare professional thinks it is appropriate however individuals retain the right to choose whether or not to have their bodily integrity interfered with. For consent to be valid, it must be voluntarily and informed, and the person consenting must have the capacity to make the decision. Appropriate consent to treatment would normally require an individual undergoing treatment to have legal capacity and competence to give consent which the consent is the free expression of that individuals will and the individual has been provided with enough information for that consent to be given. Although completion of a consent form is in most cases not a legal requirement, written consent can also serve as evidence of valid consent. It is good practice however to use consent forms where an intervention such as surgery if to be undertaken. Where there is any doubt about the person’s capacity, it is important, before the person is asked to sign the form, to establish both that they have the capacity to consent to the intervention and that they have...
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