Addressing an ethical issue in the healthcare field

Addressing an ethical issue in the healthcare field
Summary of Article
Because their patients’ mental health isn’t always good, Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNPs) face different ethical challenges every day in their work. In 2015, a study was done to find out how schizophrenic patients’ bad decision making is related to their illness. (Findlay et al., 2015).In the study, the patients were asked about how they were managed and treated, as well as what they thought about how the clinicians dealt with them. For the study to work, the people who took part had to understand that they were taking part in a study, be over the age of 18, and be able to communicate well. From the study, it was found that most of the patients fully understood their medical conditions, knew what caused them, and were willing to do things like smoke cigarettes, drink too much alcohol, and listen to music. (Findlay et al., 2015). They showed that their behavior was a way for them to deal with stress. From what they knew, it was easy for them to guide PMHNPS and help them get good health results. Unfortunately, the people who took part in the study said that the poor health outcomes of schizophrenic patients were caused by PMHNPS’s bad decisions.

Problems of right and wrong

When it comes to moral and ethical problems, the decisions made by PMHNPS are of the utmost importance because they show whether or not the physician is following the key bioethical principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, and autonomy. (Stone et al., 2018). Even though most schizophrenic patients understand their conditions better, their families make decisions for them, which is a violation of their right to liberty. Even though these people say they don’t like the type of care they are getting, their families end up making them get it anyway. They probably chose different ways to run things that worked out the same way. By taking the side of family members or guardians, PMHNPs end up being biased and putting the legal rights of their patients at risk. Such situations show that PMHNPs didn’t fully understand their patients and didn’t think about how they wanted to be treated. As a result, they made bad choices that led to poor patient outcomes and a worsening of their health.

State laws about health

In order to improve the health status and outcomes of people with mental illnesses, Virginia’s health offices work hard and are dedicated to giving them good health care. To help people who are mentally ill, the health department works closely with people who work in community health. It makes sure that they each get the help they need because, even if they have the same mental illness, their needs are different. State rules say that PMHNPS has to treat each patient as an individual, even though they may all have the same mental illness. This is because it is not clear that the same treatment plan will work well and the same way for all of them. (Hedman et al., 2016). One may need a different way to be treated. PMHNPs should change how they treat and take care of their patients to improve their outcomes while still following the laws that govern patient care, like autonomy, non-maleficence, and autonomy. Making moral decisions

I would make a choice by making sure I had a good history and physical exam of my patient. I would learn the most about them by looking at their past, and then I would listen to the family member, guardian, or person who brought them to get help. After making a diagnosis, I would talk to the patient, their guardian, or the person who brought them to the doctor about the different ways they could be treated. After hearing what they have to say, I use my knowledge as a doctor and advice from my colleagues to choose the best treatment for the patient. (abiding by beneficence). Also, for the purpose of managing the patient, it would be important to keep track of their growth, so that if they got worse, I wouldn’t be afraid to change how I manage and treat them. All of the steps taken would be done with the patient’s best interests in mind.

References

Culbreth, A. J., Westbrook, A., Daw, N. D., Botvinick, M., & Barch, D. M. (2016). Reduced model-based decision-making in schizophrenia. Journal of abnormal psychology, 125(6), 777.

Findlay, L. J., El-Mallakh, P., Howard, P. B., Hatcher, J., & Clark, J. J. (2015). Health Behavior Decision-making in African-American Adults Diagnosed with Schizophrenia. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 36(7), 493-504.

Hedman, L. C., Petrila, J., Fisher, W. H., Swanson, J. W., Dingman, D. A., & Burris, S. (2016). State laws on emergency hold for mental health stabilization. Psychiatric Services, 67(5), 529-535.

Stone, E. G. (2018). Evidence-Based Medicine and Bioethics: Implications for Health Care Organizations, Clinicians, and Patients. The Permanente Journal, 22.

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