Ethical Principles Underlying Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethical Principles Underlying Leadership - Essay Example According to the study it is common for healthcare facilities to update their work plans to follow a set of guidelines to conform to high quality standards. However, it is also expected that some members of the institutions in question would raise their points on opposing the implementation of changes within their healthcare system. An example of such changes met with strong opposition was mentioned in detail, where medical personnel were made to conform to evidence-based practices in dealing with their patients. The situation showed how their autonomy in handling patients was violated, but while there were major changes in how to deal with patients, there was still enough autonomy left for the healthcare personnel in the scenario, and that they could still take care of their patients in whatever way they deem fit. On a personal experience, in terms of fidelity and autonomy, the author had to face some problems with regards to handling patients under palliative care and their familie s. The physician handling the case wanted to fully inform the family as well as the patient of the expected life span after several failed chemotherapy sessions. The author voiced concern over the ethical aspect of such, and added explanations that it could prove stressful to both the family and the patient if they knew exactly that the time to be spent together was limited. In the end, to remain honest with the patient and family a compromise was made in telling them of the situation, though some parts of the truth such as estimated timeframe were held back so as not to add stress. Telling them about the shorter lifespan was better than not telling them about it at all, and that this helps them to prepare in the event that the patient suddenly expire within the expected time frame, showing how ethics and fidelity can come together in the provision of care. Answer to Discussion Question 2: Non-malfeasance has been defined as one of the basic principles in healthcare that requires pr oviders to do the patient not any kind of harm, however, the vagueness of the term creates problems in determining whether actions done for patients are harmful or not (Monagle & Thomasma, 2004). This means that harm becomes a relatively subjective term, and what may work for one patient might fail in another’s case. This is one reason why patients normally put their complete trust on medical personnel in keeping them safe, no matter if they would be harmed or not. It is expected that