Professional Collaboration : The Ethics Committee

One of the major areas of strength of the AMA Code of Ethics is the principle that outlines that the physician must “regard responsibility to the patient as paramount” (American Medical Association, n.d., par. 9). This principle outlines that importance of putting the patient first in all care aspects when working with a patient. Along with this, other principles set forth in the AMA Code of Ethics, while involving other aspects of care, state that the rights of the patient shall be acknowledged and followed during patient care. It is very important that healthcare codes of ethics are clear in defining that the patient needs to be considered first and foremost.

Ethics are rules of conduct and moral principles of an individual which have various origins such as family, culture, and social environment. Given the diversity of people in the healthcare profession and the importance of providing care that is ethically sound

Assist the patent and family, as appropriate, in coming to a consensus regarding the options that best meet the patient’s goal for care.

Studies have shown that many factors have been contributing to influence patient’s care in an ethical manner. What factors could affects one decision for their medical care? Does it also included the nurse’s individual views or should consider their moral obligations? But what is ethics really is? Based on the book Nursing Ethics by Butts & Rich, “Ethics is a systematic approach to understand, analyze, and distinguish matters of right and wrong, good and bad, and admirable and deplorable as they relate to the well-being”. Ethics should follow the current AMA guidelines.

The topic of ethics is prevalent in health care and addresses a broad range of topics in nursing. In almost every interaction with a patient there could be a situation that may bring up the question of ethics. Fortunately, there is the realization that placing the nurse in the care of a patient, may put the medical personnel in an environment where the ethics are questioned. There are whole departments dedicated to advising nurses in these situations. There are also ethic committees to help guide you when you find yourself in a situation that may question your practice or circumstances.

An ethics committee is a consultation group that assists in the resolution of conflict and answers in moral and ethical questions related to patients. Ethics committee's tenants are based upon the principals of beneficence, to do good, non-maleficence, to do no harm, respect for autonomy, fairness, truthfulness, and justice. Their main goals are to promote the rights of patients, share

The structure of an Ethics committee includes members and a chairman or chairmen. The membership size of the Ethics committee can vary and the size might reflect that of the institution it works through. It is important to the success of the committee that its membership be multidisciplinary. These providers could be physicians, social workers, nurses, chaplains, legal representatives and others who work in the institution. In an article by McCabe (2015) “there has been a movement to include patients as the community members. The inclusion of this group of individuals adds the patient voice to the discussion and keeps the committee focused on a patient-centered approach to its work” (p. 481). In this mix, it is certain that that there will be an assortment of ethical views to draw from. According to an article by Caitlin (2014) “a well-functioning ethics committee has no hierarchy and all members have equal voice” (p. 400). She also states, “ethics committee functions follow standards set by the professional organization for ethicists, the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH). Guidelines for consultations are delineated in the ASBH Manual for Core Competencies” (p. 398).

Clinical ethics consultation can often be provided through an assortment of methods. These methods can include an institutional ethics committee, ethics team, or a clinical ethicist (DeWolf Bosek, 2009). A clinical ethicist typically is a person who has completed graduate level or specialty training in healthcare ethics. People who serve as clinical ethicists often hold professional healthcare roles such as physicians, nurses, or physical therapists, whereas others come with educational and professional backgrounds in philosophy or religion (DeWolf Bosek,

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a case study addressing ethical leadership, analyzing application of standardized code of ethics on nursing practice, and discussing issues in safety for quality patient care. This paper will support the importance of confidentiality when discussing protected patient information. In addition, the need for continuing education and training for nursing through identification of Federal and State regulations as applied to nursing practice will be

The ethical committee should intervene to determine the ethical responsibilities of the medical and administrative staff. The people involved should be held accountable and give them the opportunity to communicate the patients about the medical

Nursing is a career that is governed by a set of ethical principles. The duties of a nurse consist of care and support and its important that nurses are aware of their professional ethics. These principles are put into place to uphold and maintain moral values in healthcare. The American Nurses Association (ANA) code of ethics for nurses consists of nine provisions, outlined in the Code of Ethics for nurses with Interpretive Statements. These provisions are constructed to blueprint the role and responsibilities of a nurse. The chosen provisions being discussed will refer to the three main principles of patient autonomy, patient confidentiality, and patient rights.

Nurses are subject to a plethora of legal, ethical, and professional duties which can be very challenging on a day to day basis. Some of these duties include respecting a patient 's confidentiality and autonomy, and to recognize the duty of care that is owed to all patients. As nurses our duties are always professional; however there are legal implications if these duties are breached. We also must consider when it is okay as nurses to breach these duties and therefore ethical issues arise. As nurses one of our main priorities is to advocate for our patients, without our own personal feelings on the matter taking over.

The Code of Ethics furnishes a definitive model of conduct. The standard of conduct is entrenched in associations, affiliations, confidentiality, and commitment with health care professionals. The Code of Ethics for healthcare quality professionals is dedicated to routine enhancement and preserving integrity by identifying individual accountability and ethical obligation to patients, medical providers, employees, health care organizations, and the community (Oddo, 2011). Ethics are not voluntary in the health care field. They are a vital and central part of medicine. Ethical codes form and assemble moral atmosphere and allotting the ethical accountability and

For example, the Hippocratic oat, the prayer of Moses Maimonides, the bible, the Holy Koran, and the Islamic legacy, as well as cultures, traditions, and social morality have shaped and guided the development of ethical standards in the medical profession. The majority of these historical documents focus on “avoiding harm to patients” Ethics refers to a professional moral conduct. Ethics, particularly professional ethics, describes the moral actions based on professional character and ethical principles in each profession. The statements of medical ethics require the health care providers to do what is best for the patient and place the patients’ interests before the interests of the physician. Above all, the purpose of medical ethics is to protect and defend human dignity and patients’

Healthcare professionals will be faced with ethical dilemmas throughout their career, particularly in the hospital environment. Having an education regarding professional healthcare ethics will provide some direction in how to best address these dilemmas at a time when either the patient or their family is in need of making decisions for themselves or their family member. It can be difficult for healthcare professionals to weigh professional protocol against their own personal beliefs and ethical understandings when determining critical care for their patient.