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Recommended: Essays on medical ethics
This essay uses the book“ The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot to investigate the requirements of informed consent ,by informing the patients through every steps Henrietta’s story is an example on informed consent. On one hand theorists such as, Dale Keigner argue that informed consent should be notified by the doctor to the patient and the patient should be knowledge on the proceeding that the doctors will maintain. On the other hand , Lewis Soloman contends that the doctors should be able to take any specimens from the patient after operating without consent for scientific reasons and research. . He also asserted that doctors should be able to deduct any specimen that will be able to help in the science research. Others maintain
Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman from the 1900s. She was diagnosed with cancer and had her cancer cells cultured without her consent. These cancer cell lines are known as HeLa cell lines and one of the first immortalized cell lines utilized in current medical research. The fundamental issue with Henrietta Lacks’ HeLa cells is that the researchers never obtained consent for the use of these cells; nevertheless, these cells have benefitted greatly for the area of research. Not only were the cells useful for finding treatments for diseases, but the cells were also utilized in space studies too.
In Joseph Collins article, “Should Doctors Tell the Truth?” he states that doctors shouldn’t tell the truth to their patients that deals with their life and death. Collins argued that doctor should withhold the truth on any circumstances. For example, when Collins blamed himself because of the death of a lawyer who suffered from kidney disease, only if he had lied to the lawyer about his health issue, the lawyer still could have been alive. However, I believe that doctors should always tell the truth to their patients regardless of the circumstances because withholding information violates patient’s autonomy and harms the doctor-patient relationship.
Medicine has changed in ways over the years that one might have never thought twice about having anything like that happen to them. People today have increased their knowledge overall about their health situations and how to treat themselves. Patients are stepping up and making decisions about their healthcare choices each day with physicians. And in this process it has turned out to be so important for people to understand what is truly being done before medical treatment is given. We have talked this semester about informed consent and how important it is that our patients understand the meaning of what they are having done.
In “Should Doctors Tell the Truth,” Joseph Collins presents an argument for why in some cases a physician lying to a patient is a justifiable action, as lying in some cases serves to benefit the patient’s health. Though a physician may certainly be justified in lying to a patient in some cases, Collins’ presentations of justifiable examples of lying do not demonstrate a dedication to achieve or to understand the patient’s best interest. Rather, Collins advocates for a model of the doctor-patient relationship that does not extend consideration to the patient’s autonomy nor to the patient’s expectation of privacy in order to form a paternalistic strategy of treating patients. Moreover, Collins’ position is not normative as it operates on knowledge that cannot be attained preemptively and relies on moral luck for its justification. Collins supports his argument for the moral permissibility of lying to patients by describing an interaction with his friend on a golf course.
She advocates for the goal of disclosure and an atmosphere of openness, hoping to restore trust between the physician and the patient. Communicating truthful information, even if it may be life-changing, will promote more beneficial medical practices. However, she also acknowledges that there may be cases in which concealment of information may be necessary. In such cases, Bok suggests that truthful information should go to someone closely related to the patient which will promote a more open and trusting environment. A concern arises, then, about what the physician should do if the patient explicitly communicates that they do not want to be told about a diagnosis or treatment option even if it may better promote their
A moral dilemma that arises in a doctor-patient relationship is whether or not the doctor should always tell their patient the truth about their health. Although withholding information was a common practice in the past, in today’s world, patient autonomy is more important than paternalism. Many still are asking if it is ever morally permissible for a doctor to lie to a patient, though. David C. Thomasma writes that truth-telling is important as a right, a utility, and a kindness, but other values may be more important in certain instances. The truth is a right because respect for the person demands it.
Informed consent. A.2.b. Types of information needed. A.4.a. Avoiding harm.
Consent is patients’ rights because they have right to know what is happening to their life which is fundamental value in professional practice (Department of Health (DH), 2001). Dougherty and Lister (2015) state that consent is a patient’s rights to refuse or to accept a treatment. However, Dimond (2010) said that consent is a voluntarily decision which can be given orally, verbally, written or implied for example if you ask a patient to take their blood pressure and they offer their arm. Eyal (2012) also states that consent promote trust in medical procedures that people may seek and comply with medical advice and participate in medical research. Bok (2013) argues that there are problems with the trust-promoting as many patients give consent despite being to some extent distrustful.
Conventional wisdom use to hold that the “doctor knows what is best for the patient”, leading to a paternalistic and unbalanced relationship between most physicians and patients. This idea of medical paternalism stems from the Hippocratic oath which states that “ [a physician] will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to [his] ability and judgment”. The Hippocratic oath as historically said by all physicians and medical students is based on a foundation of beneficence yet the oath does not emphasize the personal autonomy of the patient. The oath focuses on the characteristics of a doctor and duty of a doctor yet doesn’t mention the role of doctor in respecting the patients wishes. This principle of paternalism was accepted
Ethics Assignment Introduction Confidentiality is an ethical value that remains deeply rooted in the nursing profession and has always been the cornerstone of the nurse-patient relationship. Since the days as nursing students, we were constantly reminded of the significance in maintaining patient’s confidentiality. The Oxford dictionary defines confidentiality as intended to be kept secret while the Cambridge dictionary defines it as the state of being secret.
Health care physicians are tasked with the responsibility of caring for people with a variety of illnesses. However, a patient has a legal right over their bodies and thus can refuse treatments recommended by a physician. There are a variety of reasons that a patient would refuse help, one being because of their religious beliefs and another reason may be that the patient is incapable of making informed decisions. However, a doctor should have the right to treat patients involuntary, if it would benefit the patient. It is also important to bear in mind the Hippocratic Oath when considering why doctors should be allowed to treat a patient who has refused medical treatment.
Truth telling and confidentiality depend upon the situations. It is right to tell the truth in certain but it is also right to hide something from the patients in certain situations. According to utilitarianism one should usually tell the truth and keep one’s promise because you should always perform an action that provides maximum utility and if keeping a promise and telling the truth makes someone happy then it is providing maximum utility.
Patients have a right to complain about the doctor's refusal to the Management. Provision of Treatment requires patient’s choice and informed consent. Even if a patient has signed a general consent clause, the patient can still refuse medical treatment or procedures. However, in exceptional or emergency situations a doctor may be legally justified in performing surgery or providing treatment without the patient's consent. The patient should be competent and capable of making such a decision to give a consent.