Hippocrates was a noteworthy figure in he history of medicine. He was an ancient Greek doctor born in 460BC. Hippocrates is also known as the Father of Western Medicine. Hippocrates once said, “Nobody should willingly cause any preventable human suffering or harm”. These words are actually the core and basic truth of medical ethics.
Over 2,000 years ago, Hippocrates knew that no one is perfect that there are no perfect people. He knew that men can be great. But, he also knew what men ar able to do. He exceedingly opposes those who heedlessly harm people. He is hesitant to give drugs that he knew will just harm people. Having that said, many considered Hippocrates as the first bio ethicist.
Before one can talk about bio ethical dilemmas, one must understand its importance and purpose in health care, it is vital to know the difference between law and bioethics. Law are set of rules given by the administration whereas bio ethics can come in either of these two sources. First is personal ethics and the second one is known as professional ethics. The first one relies on the person’s distinctive morals and values. Professional ethics on the other hand are set by professional organization board. They are generally accepted by people practicing the profession. With no standards, anyone can practice medicine, administer drugs and perform medical interventions. Misdiagnosis, malpractice and even fatality can take place. Indeed, life is indispensable. To protect man’s presence, health care professionals must know their worth and understand how important they are in the improvement of life.
Like any other profession, medical assistants too, are experiencing bio ethical issues and dilemmas. Some do not understand how vast the roles of the medical assistants. To be a skilled and medical assistanats, one must know how to act in an ethical demeanor. The code of ethics of the American Association of Medical Assistants or (AAMA) is accountable for providing guidance and supervision to medical assistants as to what is right and wrong in this specific field of practice. They are rather concern on doing the right thing at the right point in time.
Secrecy Breach
Medical assistants know that confidentiality is very important especially in this kind of profession. There are certain bylaws that dictate the patient medical records. It is important to find out that every patient interaction with the patient is classified. This includes conversation and treatment management. Also, there are times when the patients will disclose personal matters and their most intimate feelings and fears. As respect to the profession, take note that these pieces of information is not for public knowledge. Therefore, gossips about the patient’s history and medical needs are not allowed.
Loyalty Issues
Fidelity according to the one online dictionary means the quality of being faithful or loyal. In medical assisting, fidelity here is about being loyal to the employer. In spite of this, there is a thin line to being loyal to the employer and doing harm to the patient because the employer or the physician orders his assistant to perform interventions that can cause harm to the patient.
Honesty And Making Mistakes
Accepting one has done wrong can be difficult. On the other hand, when it comes to health care, practicing candor is a must because just one mistake can cause the patient’s life. Also, failure to admit mistakes can cause potential lawsuits and threat to the institution.
No one is perfect and there is no perfect vocation. The three scenarios given above are just some of the most common bio ethical dilemmas that medical assistants face. Yes, they can be nerve wrecking. But knowing the rules and where one stands in the job will help avoid such situations.
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