Miller, W. (1985). Herkovits v. Group Health
The 21st century has brought a great number of changes to the medical paradigm, however. As the population ages, there are more and more people requiring care; and more who have or are experiencing debilitating conditions that, up to now, have had no medical or pharmacological treatment. The contemporary physician, therefore must respect patient value and individuality, the education of the patient, as well as provide the best service possible under the realities of contemporary medical care. At times, this may result in working with an experimental procedure or drug that may not have predictable effects and may actually go against the medical paradigm of "do no harm," while staying to the letter of the ethical maxim of "intentionally do no harm"
Stress Management in the Healthcare Setting
An increasing body of evidence points to the intensity of the labor involved in caring, and the impact it has on the carer. Whether lay or professional, it seems that the potential for suffering among carers is enormous. When a person reaches a state of physical, emotional or mental exhaustion, burnout occurs, and it appears to affect both lay and professional carers alike. Almberg's study, for example, suggests that exhaustion and burnout from caring happen in many different cultures and that 'relatives who have been giving care for many years may experience similar emotional exhaustion to that suffered by staff' (Almberg et al 2007). Whether lay carers would express their state as burnout is questionable, since it tends to be a term mostly used in professional discussion, but there is evidence of high levels of stress and illness among informal or lay carers (Henwood 1998). Lay carers, in one study (Princess Royal Trust 2009), felt that it was not even of interest to professional carers whether they could cope or not. Over 70% of 1300 lay carers involved in this study reported that it was largely assumed that they would cope with looking after a person at home, and were not asked if they could do so. Are they not being asked because of ignorance, because of fears of what might turn up if they were asked, because of denial ... what is not known about does not hurt? Professional carers, however, are supposed to have special training which equips them to deal with the suffering of others dispassionately, maintaining a certain distance which 'protects' both them and their patients or clients.
Thesis: If work is our centre, but it fails us, for whatever reason, then we have literally lost our faith. The centre no longer holds and we may fall apart - showing all the signs and symptoms of stress and burnout, addiction and co-dependence.
Race and ethnicity in healthcare disparities: reducing gaps and reform impacts
In this paper, we are seeking to understand how there are disparities in the quality of health care services for minorities. To determine the impact that this is having on the system requires looking at: how these disparities can be reduced, recent efforts that are being implemented to deal with the challenges and how President Obama's health care reform regulations can address these issues. Once this occurs, is when we can offer specific insights about the best approaches for dealing with these issues.