Chapter 1:

Why should you have a foundation in ethics if you are involved in health care? Are you not already a good person?

Ethics are important and should be maintained by health workers. Informed consent and confidentially are some of the considerations in the ethical values that matter in the life of a health worker. The foundations towards ethics are based on the need to provide efficient services in the field of health and to avoid things that may expose the patients to threats while being taken care of in the institution. The ethical standards and values have been established that help in monitoring the performance of the health workers (Jones & Bartlett, 2012)

Some of the ethical values considered include beneficence, autonomy, veracity, justice, and nonmaleficence. Beneficence is doing a procedure to a client with the aim of a positive effect on the patient. Everything done should be beneficial to the patient. Veracity is being truthful in the findings that are observed and even on the diagnosis. Telling the truth about the patient’s condition is necessary for appropriate interventions. Autonomy is the state of being free to make personal decisions on actions to take for a given situation of a client. This also means making informed choices (Chadwick & Gallagher, 2016).

Justice means being fair and avoid discrimination of patients. The last among the ethics here is nonmaleficence which means to avoid causing injuries to the patients. The ethics are essential in facilities in our place of care provision and considering me; I think myself am a good person and can maintain the ethical values in the profession always to provide care of the required standards (Jones & Bartlett, 2012)

How can you use the tenets of natural law in your practice in health care?

The principle of natural law explains how to solve the dilemmas in ethics that need to be addressed. It is used in solving situations and recognizes moral concepts and legal concepts in the choices of life. Making perfect choices is not easy, but priorities must be established to help explain a given situation at hand and different diagnoses that were not detected earlier on examination of the patient extensively (Jones & Bartlett, 2012)

In the facilities, numerous cases that need critical thinking and are ensured by care providers to make decisions that will assist in managing a threatening condition. Sometimes autonomy should be considered in some situations while in other cases collaborative management can be used in the treatment of a disease. In collaborative management, several caregivers are involved like the doctors, clinical officers and the nurses (Grace, 2017).

This principle also focuses on law and policies. The government can punish actions taken by individuals providing health if it causes serious harm to the patient and so the rules are considered in the health sector. The patients have the right to report if not attended to properly. The care providers should be keen on their work and avoid any issues that may lead them to be questioned about their word or lead to demotion (Chadwick & Gallagher, 2016).

Why is virtue ethics advocated as the best model for persons who work on health care professions? Does this argument succeed in helping manage inevitable ethical dilemmas?

It is traced back to the Aristotle’s and the virtue of ethics deals with happiness or the good deeds ensured by the caregiver. The health worker should involve patients and put the clients’ interests first. It also talks about some of the ethics that are significant in health care providers such as autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. All these ethics are used in the health care setting for handling clients in the health institutions (Jones & Bartlett, 2012)

It’s the best model as it clearly explains the ethical values. The argument can succeed in managing dilemmas that cannot be avoided. The care provider will be able to make informed decisions, be and do the correct procedures at the required time. Individual choices can at times be necessary as one believes in him or herself. The priorities that nurses come with can be used in the management of critical situations (Chadwick & Gallagher, 2016).

Persons of integrity are needed to make these decisions. Using the virtue ethics a better interpersonal relationship between the care provider and patient is necessary. Knowing how to deliver critical information to a client is also essential as poor delivery of information can lead to chaos and confusion creating lots of questions to the client receiving the data (Grace, 2017).

Why is deontology still crucial in contemporary health care practice? How can you use the categorical imperative to make decisions in today’s health care practice?

Deontology means doing the right thing to solve a situation minus considering the merits or the demerits of the method used. Appropriate actions according to the order of their importance should be ensured in the management of the conditions. It involves doing something to a patient no matter the consequences and is used in contemporary health care (Chadwick & Gallagher, 2016).

After acting, a solution for the negative consequence will be made later as long as death or relief is achieved. The categorical imperative is a Kant’s theory and does not consider an action being right or wrong, and the action will not depend on the consequences of it, but at least the duty at hand is fulfilled. Deontology is linked to consequentialism as they are both aspects of justice so the implications can be considered later after managing the existing situation (Chadwick & Gallagher, 2016).

Health workers should consider the proper behavior at all cost, and the patients will reap the benefits of appropriate care by serious people. Decisions and interventions are prioritized in the wards and then implemented in care. When the caregivers are well organized they attract people, and they are appraised for quality services by promotion to the next level in the line of duty (Jones & Bartlett, 2012).

Chapter 2:

What do you think is the essential principle for clinical health care professionals? Explain

The most important of the principles is justice, and it seems much complex. Justice helps avoid discrimination of patients depending on the race, tribe or any other issue for discrimination. Fairness and equity in the handling of the patients are essential so that no patient feels that he or she is not considered as necessary to the health workers to be attended to first or what they want they don’t get in time from the caregivers (Kangasniemi, Pakkanen & Korhonen, 2015).

Listening to all the patients’ opinions and complaints, then dealing with them appropriately is essential. Justice also entails some rights, and they should be observed to ensure equality. The rights are classified as follows; legal and positive rights which protect the rights of the person, substance rights, and negative rights meaning the right for privacy and be alone, process rights that ensure the process is followed as determined, and the natural and ideal rights (Kangasniemi, Pakkanen & Korhonen, 2015).

An ideal right is motivational while a natural right concerning human attributes. The rights of a patient in drug administration include; right dose, right patient, right route, right medication and the right time. Ideal rights guide the people, and they develop a sense of motivation in their work and with motivation quality services are delivered in the health institutions (Jones & Bartlett, 2012)

Why is beneficence more complex principle than nonmaleficence

Beneficence ensures avoiding harms that might happen and provide the patient with benefit from the interventions that are being done. Nonmaleficence in the clinical setting means does not harm which harm in healthcare is anything done that can worsen the situation of the condition of the client. In the nonmaleficence, there can be issues of avoiding doing something due to fear of the outcomes when you do not have the full information on the condition being managed (Jones & Bartlett, 2012).

Beneficence does not violate the principle of autonomy as the person’s interests are ensured especially the patient opinions about his or her life. Beneficence involves altruism meaning an action that benefits the other at some cost of the provider; it is associated with the selflessness of the care provider to help the patient (Kangasniemi, Pakkanen & Korhonen, 2015).

Nonmaleficence will involve the use of avoiding an action to prevent harm meaning treatment may be hindered due to an underlying condition, and the current situation will not be treated due to some contraindications present. Beneficence is sacrificing self to help the client get well, and the caregiver has a virtue of humanity and taking any risks as long as the condition is under control.

Why is respecting autonomy so crucial to the future of healthcare

Autonomy is being independent in making decisions on the critical issues about a client and then doing the interventions. The independence of patients to make decisions regarding their health considering the condition that he or she is suffering from and make informed choices. Although concerning this in the patients being autonomous may not be healthy as some may be depressed to the extent of avoiding treatment and drugs that they should take and when this occurs attention on the patient welfare is necessary (Chadwick & Gallagher, 2016).

They can decide to take the drugs, agree to surgeries some people like an abused woman will not like to talk about the bruises on the body. Seeking consent while there is a need for surgery for a patient’s condition and treatment is essential (Kangasniemi, Pakkanen & Korhonen, 2015). The caregivers also make decisions of treatment modalities and theories in managing client’s conditions. There is also ward rounds where decisions are made to shift to better medicine for a situation, and other diagnoses can also be identified.

Why is justice in health care more complicated than just doing what is fair

Justice is more complicated as compared to being fair things. Justice has three principles that are equality, fairness/equity and justice/need itself. Justice is more comprehensive, and fairness is under justice as a whole. Equality should be ensured in the provision of healthcare throughout to ensure there are no complaints and avoid discouraging the ones who will observe they are not fairly treated. Justice for all is recommended in social setup or any environment (Kangasniemi, Pakkanen & Korhonen, 2015).

Justice also explains the rights of patients in medical institutions. The health workers should obey these rights and they provide the best services to the clients, these rights are essential as they protect the patients from being exploited or mishandled in the wards by the health workers. Being fair the application of equity in handling the patients which are not enough concerning the justice that is needed (Grace, 2017).

Patients usually expect to be respected and their opinions considered by nurses, and it is essential. Stubborn patients who fail to make appropriate decisions need psychological therapy, and then proper choices can be made on the same. Two categories of justice are procedural justice meaning it follows a process and distributive justice concerned with the allocation of resources to various areas and equal distribution or if it is an offer it should be implemented equally to the people concerned (Grace, 2017).

References

Chadwick, R., & Gallagher, A. (2016). Ethics and nursing practice. Macmillan International        Higher Education.

Grace, P. J. (Ed.). (2017). Nursing ethics and professional responsibility in advanced practice.      Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Kangasniemi, M., Pakkanen, P., & Korhonen, A. (2015). Professional ethics in nursing: an integrative review. Journal of advanced nursing, 71(8), 1744-1757.

Retrieved from third edition health care ethics book by Jones and Bartlett 2012.