Ethics in the nursing and occupational therapy communities is an ongoing concern that is being addressed in a number of different arenas and manners. This paper discusses national and international frameworks that have been created to address, define and provide ethical behavior guidelines for the healthcare communities that comprise measured and timely responses to the ethics issue as it pertains to those communities. Specifically, the paper will look at ethical decision making in healthcare regarding patient consent; how it is presented, used and documented. Additionally, the paper will seek legal and ethical frameworks as defined by a variety of Australian and international healthcare and medical entities.
National and International Ethical Frameworks
A number of organizations have established guidelines for ethical behavior by the members of those organizations. International and national healthcare organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) have set forth guidelines that affect how not only their individual members, but entire countries behave. As an example, in 1948 the UN created the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that called on all nations and peoples to reaffirm "their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women" (United Nations, 1948) and by doing so ensured that each person implicitly had the right to consent to actions taken on or in behalf of the individual. By ensuring that each person in the global community participates in an equal manner and on equal footing, a standard is set that allows individuals the opportunity to exercise their right to say no, and conversely their right to say yes as well.
Other international organizations, such as the WHO, have provided additional and more specific guidelines regarding how issues in healthcare should be handled, and by whom. The WHO charter states that all peoples should benefit from medical, psychological and related knowledge in order to gain the fullest attainment of health and that "informed opinion and active cooperation on the part of the public are of the utmost importance in the improvement of the health of the people" (WHO, 1948, p. 1). In other words, individuals should take an interest in the own lives and gain the knowledge needed to make informed decisions concerning their health and well-being.
The Australian Charter of Health Care Rights (2014) defines seven specific areas of concern for Australian citizens. Those rights include; a right to health care as well as a right to safe and high quality care. The rights also extend to a right to be included in decisions about that care and a right to privacy and confidentiality. The other three stated rights include the right to be shown respect and dignity, the right to comment on care and have the comments discussed, and the right to be informed about the costs and options of the available treatments in a clear and open manner.
The United Nation also developed a document that contains the understanding of just what was expected of the international health care community with the introduction of the Convention of the Rights of the Child. The Convention, according to the United Nation's website became the most "rapidly and widely ratified international human rights treaty in history" (United Nations, 1989). The convention created a set of guidelines for treatment of children as human beings instead of "passive objects of care and charity." Since its creation the Convention has been instrumental in changing how children and youth patients are viewed by the medical community.
Thomas and Weisstub (2008) discusses the ethics and guidelines from different charters and conventions and concludes that many of the organizations have been quite effective in changing cultures around the world regarding health care, and in particular the manner in which children are now viewed and the rights that children are now expected to have.
In 1964, the World Medical Association prepared the Declaration of Helsinki. The Declaration was created as a way of providing guidelines to physicians engaged in biomedical research involving human subjects (WMA, 1964). One of the most intriguing aspects of the Declaration of Helsinki is that for the research subject there is an explicitly stated right to safeguard his or her integrity and that "every precaution should be taken to respect the privacy of the subject and to minimize the impact of the study on the subject's physical and mental integrity and on the personality of the subject" (p. 1). According to the Declaration, the physician is responsible for ensuring that the subject has the right information to make an informed decision, and that information includes the fact that the subject can change his/her mind...
This is not just an opinion of the authors. They actually did a study called the Defining Issues Test (DIT) which measures ethical judgment. The (DIT) was given to over five hundred (500) college students upon entrance into an occupational therapy program and just prior to completion of the program. The study revealed a significant increase in ethical judgment scores as the students neared the end of their program
In this way, I fulfill my duty not only to my clients, but also to the community that helps me to accomplish the fulfilment of this duty (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2005). The central premise of my philosophy is therefore to connect with clients on a personal level, determine what they need, and work with them to achieve the results they desire. For this reason, I expect that my engagement
Overlapping Duties in OT and PT Evaluation of Overlapping Duties in Occupational and Physical Therapy Occupational therapists (OT) often work in a team environment with other health care professionals including physical therapists (PT), nurses, speech therapists, and mental health professionals. Because of the similarity between occupational and physical therapy, the duties of both professions frequently overlap. The role of the occupational therapist as defined by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) is
Medical Ethics Ethics is a topic that is nearly as old as the human race. Ethics is sometimes referred to a branch of philosophy called moral philosophy. Ethics is often conceptualized as a code or a system meant to categorize or otherwise classify as well as recommend behavior that is right and behavior that is wrong. Ethical codes often describe what right and wrong is in general as well. The practice
Society Feels About Animals As a first order primate, humans have a natural affinity with animals of all types that has contributed to their mutual relationships throughout history. In fact, animals of different types have been since the time of the ancient Greeks to improve the emotional and functional status of humans (Mccauley, 2006, p. 358). Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) has grown in popularity in recent years based on its proven
To resolve these problems the researcher will seek to gather evidence from as large a population sample as possible using randomized selection to help eliminate bias when observing nursing student testimonials. Exit Plans and Ethical Considerations To exit the field gracefully and to close out individual interviews, the researcher will ask study participants to fill out a review form. This form will allow students the opportunity to rate the study and
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now