Legal and Ethical Conflicts
Discuss about the Legal and Ethical Conflicts for Groups and Institution.
A conflict occurs between two or more people, groups, institution or governments. The impact resulting from a conflict can either be direct or indirect. There are different form of conflicts in a healthcare setting which dictates for the distinct procedure for solution. The diversified beneficiaries in healthcare have different rights which the professional need to consider during the process of interaction (Mitchell & Haroun, 2012). Alternatively, the professionals have responsibilities, rights, ethics, principles and virtues which govern their service delivery. All these factors which dictate the performance of the professionals are formulated based on different platforms therefore in the process of considering one professional may end up violating another. Theories and principle have been formulated to assist the professional in making decision in case of a conflict resulting from legal and ethical (Gallagher & Hodge, 2012).
From the case study, the key stakeholders are the registered nurse, the paramedics, the residential aged care, the patient (Elsie), the community, and the patient’s family. Mostly the community and the patient’s family are subjected to the indirect impact of the conflict though at some point the family is exposed to direct impact.
In this essay, I will critically analyse the human dignity and rights of the stakeholders, principles and virtue that govern professional decision making, code of professional conduct and provide a resolution which can be implemented to solve the legal and ethical conflict based on the case study provided.
Ethics concentrates on the way of thinking, examining and understanding individuals around us and doing what is morally right. The principles outlined and theories developed to guide health profession while interacting with other stakeholder contradict. While making a decision based on ethics, a professional may violate some of the principles and theories formulated to guide the professionals. The contradiction results to a conflict which directly or indirectly affects the involved stakeholders. Legal involves rights and laws formulated to guide the interaction process of the different stakeholder to avoid mistreat. The rights and laws governing the health professional and the patient are outlined in the medical act in the state constitution. When performing their duties professional may interfere with the other stakeholder’s rights thus causing a legal conflict. From the case, the conflicts are well portrayed, and they can be discussed by considering the different stakeholders in the case.
Based on the Australian medical act Elsie has the right to medication and quality services. It is Elsie right to make a decision concerning the treatment process to be formulated. The laws stipulate that in case Elsie is unconscious a trustee should be conducted to help her in make decision. Any patient has the right to access information concerning his /her health status, and in case any of the rights is violated the patient or patient’s family has the right to sue the involved (Bma; British Medical Association., 2012). Ethically Elsie should not make a decision which will affect her health or any other stakeholder. Based on the theory of deontology Elsie decision not to be subjected to advanced treatment hold when her situation is not complicated.
Stakeholder’s Dignity and Rights
Registered nurses are protected by the association against any conflict from the organisation or the community. Nurse have the right to make medical decision on behalf of a patient who is unconscious, and they require emergency care (Lustig, 2012). The right is only applicable when the method initiated aims to relieve the patient. Health are require professionals to make a decision which sometimes they can fail, and it is the right of the nurses to be protected when such cases occur. Though it is the right of Elsie to make a decision on matters concerning her health ethics does not allow the nurse o duty to watch as Elsie suffer (Wynia, Kishore, & Belar, 2014). Additionally, the inner self of the nurse forces her to react toward the Elsie situation. Though based on ethical theories Elsie should be given a platform to make a decision, the nurse should implement any measure provided it is geared toward relieving Elsie.
Paramedics are trained to attend to an emergency health issue, and it is their right to get health information concerning the patient they are attending (Townsend & Luck, 2013). The paramedics were doing their best by resuscitated Elsie, therefore, it is their right to be protected against any claim posted on them. Additionally, Elsie was unconscious, and no trustee or family member was present to be consulted concerning Elsie’s case. The paramedics have the right to implement any medical measure provided it is geared to relieving the patient. Ethically the paramedics should take an immediate action to save the life of Elsie. Their self cannot allow them to start enquiring about the legal process that needs to be considered. Watching Elsie die without attempting any medical measure is unethical irrespective of numerous legal and ethical behind decision making.
Based on the Australian medical act the family has the right to access health information concerning Elsie (Forrester & Griffiths, 2011). Once they have been provided with the information, it is the right of the family to question and seek clarification concerning the provided information. When the information is not clear and it appears to be biased the family has the right of sue the professionals involved in the process that is paramedics and the registered nurse who was on duty. Since the residential aged care has the mandate to take care and ensure the right of the patient are observed the family has the right to sue the healthcare. Besides the rights, the family should ethically respect the decision made by the nurses since they were attempting to save the life of Elsie. Based on the theory of libertarianism the freedom of the individual is valid when there is no sufficient reason, therefore, it will be unethical to observe a patient die when a medical measure can be adopted (Buetow, 2016).
Principles and Virtues that Govern Health Professionals
From the above explanation, each stakeholder has a right which needs to be respected. When health professionals are performing their duties they Violet some of the rights and ethics thus bring conflict when the result turn to be negative. Elsie right to medication stands but her right to be consulted is violated in an attempt to relieve her. Ethically professionals should implement any medical measure provided is focusing on doing well for the patient (Pozgar & Santucci, 2015). On the same basis, Elsie should not be forced to make a decision, and her decision should be respected. When professional engage in considering the legal process of Elsie, and then Elsie dies then, the professionals are considered to be unethical. The legal and ethical conflict requires a skilled and experienced professional to solve such conflict through making a sober decision.
The principle of autonomy gives Elsie right to have control of her body (Nys, Denier, & Vandevelde, 2013). The Registered nurse should only advice Elsie and leave her to make a decision without influencing her or forcing her to make a certain decision. Elsie gives her a choice of best interest though the Nurse does finally violet the choice of Elsie. The principle of beneficence allows the nurse to implement the advanced medical attention to secure the life of Elsie (Ashcroft, 2012). The nurse and the paramedics observe this principle since all the adopted measure focus on the good of Elsie. The nurse on duty is registered indicating that she is skilled and experienced and any decision made is sober and geared at rescuing Elsie. The principle of beneficence contradicts the principle of autonomy a situation which bring conflict between Elsie’s family and the professionals.
The principle of non-maleficence simply means doing no harm to the patient at the end (Hamlin, Richardson-Tench, & Davies, 2011). The decisions made by the nurse and the paramedics focuses on restoring the health of Elsie though the opposite happens. Based on virtue ethics the decision made by the nurses is guided by morals and a good heart. Ethics protects the nurse and paramedics though the result turns negative. If the principle autonomy was observed may be the resulted could not turn negative a situation which brings contradiction between the principle of autonomy and the principle of non-maleficence. Fairness in the medical decision is advocated by the principle of justice (Devettere, 2016). On the basis of the principle, the registered nurse consults Elsie, and they agree on the right medical care. The principle is violated when the nurse on duty forces the paramedics to transit Elsie on a health care where she could be subjected to advance care. Based on the principle of autonomy Elsie had cautioned the nurse manager of advancing her treatment. Additionally, she had warned her not to resuscitate. The principle of justice restricts the nurse and the paramedics from advancing and resuscitating Elsie. Based on the principle of beneficence and non-maleficence the nurse is right to adopt advanced treatment since she is doing it for the sake of Elsie. A contradiction which results in conflict is experienced.
Code Ethics for the Health Professionals
Health professionals deal with different people, therefore, they should value them and appreciate their diversity. From the case, the nurse tries to build a bond with Elsie by involving her in making decision on her wish concerning her care. The decision of Elsie does not make the nurse discriminate her. Based on the code of ethics for nurses, they should provide quality services to all people (Johnstone, 2011).
Health professional handle different confidential information, and it takes integrity to retain the information. When a professional is integral, patient and the community develops trust and any decision formulated by the professional is highly respected. Social and honest health profession value cultures and ensure patient’s culture is respected during the process of implementing the care strategy (King & Hawley, 2012). The gap between Elsie and the nurse was bridged by the fact that the nurse took time to listen and understand Elsie. Through socialisation, professional understand different cultures an aspect which increases the cultural capability of a practitioner.
The nurse performance is greatly affected since they have no full freedom to control the patient (Alspach, 2013). When a decision made by the nurse turns negative, the nurse is affected psychologically and physically a situation which affects the health of the nurse. The conflict subjects Elsie to a pressure which makes her suffer cardiac arrest and later dies. The conflicts restrict professional to perform some helpful medical process which can save Elsie’s life. For instance, the probability of Elsie being medically treated was high at the first time of admission but since the power of nurses to make a decision concerning her treatment was limited they could not adopt any advanced treatment. The paramedics were threatened to be sued an act which affects their performance. Besides performance it affects them psychologically and when it is not well handled it can cause some mental problems. The family is affected psychologically and socially (Harman & Cornelius, 2015). The death of family members brings stress and loneliness which when not well taken care of it can lead to mental illness.
Healthcare professionals interact directly with the people, and the intensity of the conflict depends on of the social and professional factor of the professionals. Since the code of ethics emphasis on the relationship between the professionals and the community the conflict can be solved by bridging the gap between the healthcare and the community. When the professional are up to date with the code of ethics the community enjoys quality services and the probability of any decision made by the professional to fail is very low. The community develops confidence and trusts an aspect which solve the conflict. When trust is built the professionals have a conducive environment to work on and any decision they make is highly respected.
The community comprises of different cultures and when the professionals are not versant to the culture they end up making the wrong decision. Increased cultural capabilities of the practitioners help in solving some conflicts. Additionally, every culture is respected in decision-making, therefore, satisfaction in case a professional makes a decision geared at restoring the health of a patient. Profile of a health care plays a key role in winning the trust of the community. When the healthcare provides quality services and its history of restoring patient health repeats, then any decision made by the professionals will be respected irrespective of whether they are legally or ethically right.
Conclusion
The intensity of legal and ethical conflicts depends on the relationship between the professionals and the community. When skilled and experienced professionals are involved in such cases the intensity of the conflict is reduce since the professionals are versant to principles, virtue and rights governing all the stakeholders. Health professionals should improve on their code of ethic and conducts to bridge the gap between the community and the healthcare a step which will help in solving the conflict. Finally rights of each stakeholder stand to be respected and any violation legal action should be taken.
References
Alspach, J. (2013). The core curriculum for critical care nursing. St. Louis, MO: Saunders Elsevier.
Ashcroft, R. (2012). Principles of health care ethics (2nd Ed.). Chichester, West Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons.
Bma; British Medical Association. (2012). Medical ethics today (3rd edition). Hoboken: John Wiley.
Buetow, S. (2016). Person-centred health care. United Kingdom: Pan Macmillan.
Devettere, R. (2016). Practical decision making in health care ethics. Burlington: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Forrester, K. & Griffiths, D. (2011). Essentials of Law for Medical Practitioners. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Gallagher, A. & Hodge, S. (2012). Ethics, law and professional issues. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hamlin, L., Richardson-Tench, M., & Davies, M. (2011). Perioperative Nursing. London: Elsevier Health Sciences APAC.
Harman, L. & Cornelius, F. (2015). Ethical health informatics. London: Olympia Publishers.
Johnstone, M. (2011). Bioethics (2nd Ed.). Sydney, N.S.W.: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier.
King, J. & Hawley, R. (2012). Australian Nurses’ Dictionary. London: Elsevier Health Sciences APAC.
Lustig, B. (2012). Bioethics Yearbook. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
Mitchell, D. & Haroun, L. (2012). Introduction to health care. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar, Cengage Learning.
Nys, T., Denier, Y., & Vandevelde, T. (2013). Autonomy & paternalism. Leuven: Peeters.
Pozgar, G. & Santucci, N. (2015). Legal aspects of health care administration. Lancaster, PA: DEStech Publications.
Townsend, R. & Luck, M. (2013). Applied Paramedic Law and Ethics Australia and New Zealand. Chatswood, N.S.W.: Elsevier Australia.
Wynia, M., Kishore, S., & Belar, C. (2014). A Unified Code of Ethics for Health Professionals. JAMA, 311(8), 799. https://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2014.504
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
