Ethical Boundaries and Practices

1. Ethical Boundaries and Practices Ethical issues and their implications in healthcare.

2. What is ethics? Principles of right and wrong. Who should practice ethical behavior? Is there such a thing as ethical behavior among friends? When was the importance of ethics in health care first recognized?

3. Hippocrates • What do you know about Hippocrates? • Greek • Physician • Lived 2500 years ago • Wrote Hippocratic Oath, which is still taken by physicians today.

4. Codes of Ethics Professional associations write codes of ethics. Purpose: Set standards of professional conduct that promote the welfare of patients and assure high quality care. Is there a professional code of ethics for your future health profession?

5. AAMA Code of Ethics Render service with full respect for the dignity of humanity. Respect confidential information obtained through employment. Uphold the honor and high principles of the profession. Seek to continually improve the knowledge and skills of medical assistants for the benefit of patients and colleagues.

6. Ethics and the Law Laws are based on ethical principles. Most laws enforce ethical standards. Sometimes laws are in conflict with a person’s ethical principles. Healthcare workers should act in the best interest of patients and support legal standards for patient care.

7. Ethics and the Law As a future healthcare professional, do you think you will ever be put in a position where your personal ethics are in conflict with the requirements of your profession? What will you do? As a healthcare professional, will you be able to disengage your emotions when dealing with ethical conflicts?

8. Guiding Principles Ethical principles for healthcare workers and the corresponding laws that were created to support them.

9. Guiding Principles • Be honest • Be discreet • Keep promises • Do no harm Preserve life Do good Respect autonomy Uphold justice

10. Healthcare Ethics: Euthanasia Results in death to alleviate suffering or when there is no hope for recovery. Many healthcare professionals feel euthanasia is contrary to their professional ethics. Regardless of their beliefs, healthcare workers should follow state laws.

11. Healthcare Ethics: Organ Transplants Organ donations come at a time of crisis when somebody dies. Healthcare workers should ask about donation. Illegal to transplant organs without patient or family permission.

12. Healthcare Ethics: Conception IVF – In vitro fertilization Egg and sperm donation Surrogates Fertility drugs What are the ethical considerations?

13. Should there be limits to IVF? Should obese people be allowed to have IVF? Should a couple be approved for IVF if they both smoke? Should a single person who is unemployed be a candidate for IVF?

14. Codes of Conduct Ethical responsibilities include respecting the cultural, social and ethnic differences of patients and other healthcare workers. “Scope of practice” helps define the code of conduct for healthcare workers. Performing skills outside the scope of practice is illegal and unethical. Ethical codes of conduct are based on moral standards and society’s expectations.

15. Ethical Dilemmas Advances in health care have created ethical dilemmas for healthcare providers. There are no easy answers when addressing ethical dilemmas. The question is – what is the responsibility of healthcare providers when addressing ethical dilemmas?

16. Ethical Dilemmas Should family members be allowed to discontinue life support? Do parents have a religious right to refuse life-saving blood transfusions for their child? Should people be allowed to sell organs for use in transplant? Should human beings be cloned? What should be done with fertilized frozen embryos when the parents no longer want them?

17. Incident Reports To ensure prompt reporting and documentation of all incidents resulting in injury or having potential adverse affects to patients, employees, or visitors. To accurately document threats or actions of violence and environmental emergencies. To accurately document incidents of property damage.

18. Incident Reports Follow your agency’s policies in filling out and submitting incident reports. Focus on the facts. The purpose of the incident report is for legal record keeping – NOT punishment. Can you think of examples of when an incident report might be completed?

19. Electronic Incident Reports

20. Ethics Committee Most hospitals have ethics committees that examine ethical issues related to patient care. They can advise patients, families and healthcare providers. A hospital ethics committee might decide the best action to take for a terminally ill patient on a respirator. An ethics committee might also be asked to pass judgment on the actions of a healthcare provider.

21. Professional Practice Use the approved methods when performing procedures. Obtain proper authorization before performing any procedure. Identify the patient. Observe all safety precautions.

22. Most codes of Ethics that govern the behavior of healthcare Professional are written by:: iRespond Question Multiple Choice F A41A12CA-7A23-0348-8FAD-8EE377CABCB3 A.) Licensing Agencies B.) State Boards of Health C.) Professional Organizations D.) Health Science Textbook companies E.)

23. Hippocrates wrote standards for the ethical behavior of physicians 2500 years ago in: iRespond Question Multiple Choice F 1A114535-6810-834F-BA96-051FDED34D20 A.) Rome B.) Florence C.) Venice D.) Greece E.)

24. What statement about euthanasia and healthcare professionals is true? iRespond Question Multiple Choice F 8AA2257C-EDA7-3D4C-AD42-7C9A0EA4D7CC A.) The decision to employ methods of euthanasia is exclusively the physicians B.) Most HCW feel that euthanasia is contrary to their professional ethics C.) HCW shoul always follow their ehtical beliefs, regardless of what the physician orders or patient requests D.) Euthanasia is always illegal and unethical E.)

25. A grief stricken family in an ER have just been notified of the death of their child, who was hit by a car. What should the physician ask regarding organ transplantation? iRespond Question Multiple Choice F 68EA2EAB-70B2-F747-878A-89FE7A4CD369 A.) Do not ask as the family is grief stricken and cannot make an informed decision B.) Wait 5 or 6 hours until the family has had time to absorb their loss, then ask about organ donation C.) Immediately ask the family for permission to donate the childs organs for transplantation D.) Start the process of removing the organs, and hope that the family will give permission when asked E.)

26. A couple wishes to have their own biological child, but the wife had a hysterectomy for medical reasons when she was 25. What option would give them the best hope for having a child? iRespond Question Multiple Choice F 88C80110-4B5F-DB48-BDEF-7C6F14433150 A.) Genetic counseling and fertility drugs B.) Artificial insemination with sperm from a sperm bank C.) Implantation of 5-10 frozen embroys D.) IVF of their own eggs and sperm with implantation in a surrogate E.)

27. A nursing assistant refuses a request by the charge nurse to take a pain pill to a patient. The assistant believes that giving the pain medication would be a violation of his/her iRespond Question Multiple Choice F 7E552552-0AD4-1A4A-8D6F-4C64EA3EA4B1 A.) Scope of Practice B.) Religious Beliefs C.) Reasonable Accomodation D.) Rights under OSHA rules E.)

28. What MOST LIKELY would be the task of a hospital ethics committee? iRespond Question Multiple Choice F D82E4D6B-84A2-8047-907C-2B00CF5B725C A.) Approve discontinuatiuon of life support on a terminally ill patient B.) Allow the hiring of a physical therapist whose license has been revoked C.) Termination of an employee with excessive absences D.) Discipline of a physician who is dating a laboratory technician E.)

29. Which of the following is an ethical dilemma that an ethics committee would be asked to consider? iRespond Question Multiple Choice F 3044E348-1463-484C-A1F3-DE42C722F6ED A.) Removing a terminally patient froma respirator B.) Following through on a DNR request C.) Transplanting an organ into a patient who is first on the transplant list D.) Patient who is opting for a less invasive treatment when an invasive procedure is available E.)

30. Dr. North went to a meeting with other physicians and spoke about a patient he had, Mrs. Kennedy. He was telling jokes about some odd complaints that she had made. One of the physicians was a personal friend of Mrs. Kennedy's, who informed her about what Dr. North had said. What ethical principle has Dr. North violated? iRespond Question Multiple Choice F 01BC9960-BE0A-BD4D-89FD-EDBD144D8251 A.) Be honest B.) Preserve Life C.) Be discrete D.) Unhold justice E.)