Tonya’s Case: Ethics and Professional Codes

Tonya’s Case: Ethics and Professional Codes
Write a 2-3 page paper that examines end-of-life issues in relationship to hospitals, professional ethics, and accrediting bodies.
How Institutional Conceptual Frameworks Influence Ethical Decision Making
We wrap things up by exploring institutions and groups designed to help ensure that hospital staff at all levels think and act ethically in caring for patients. Accrediting bodies are oversight agencies charged with performing accreditation of hospitals and helping to establish standards for health care delivery. Their aim is to keep the quality of care as high as possible and to make sure the care is delivered ethically. Ethics committees are groups of individuals within hospitals that meet regularly to advise staff on ethically difficult cases and to promote an ethical institutional culture.
Demonstration of Proficiency
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
Competency 2: Apply sound ethical thinking related to a health care issue.
Demonstrate sound ethical thinking in applying ethical principles and moral theories to a specific case.
Competency 3: Analyze ethical issues associated with patient care from the perspectives of various health care professionals.
Explain professional codes of ethics and apply them in to a specific case.
Competency 4: Explain the conceptual framework that health care leaders use to make ethical decisions.
Explain organizational documents like mission and value statements and use them to analyze a case study.
Explain the role of accrediting bodies and applies this understanding in analyzing a case study.
Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with health care professionals.
Provides validation and support within written communications by including relevant examples and supporting evidence using APA citations.
Produce writing with minimal errors in grammar, usage, spelling, and mechanics.
Preparation
Complete the Case Study: Tonya Archer media activity, which is linked later in this assessment.
Tonya’s Case: Ethics and Professional Codes
Before you begin creating your submission for this assessment, make sure you have worked through the Tonya Archer case study. This will provide the foundational context for the assessment, for which you will be carrying out independent research by using the Internet to complete the following:
Identify the professional code of ethics for your professional specialty or a specialty that you are interested in.
With a local hospital in mind (perhaps one you work for), locate the mission, vision, and values statement of that hospital.
After you identify the professional ethics code and the hospital mission, vision, and values statements relevant to your work and interests, it may be useful to complete the following:
Identify which item in the ethical code you believe is the most important and explain why.
Name something in the code you would like to see addressed in more depth. Why?
Which item in the code do you think would be the most challenging to follow and why?
Does your code make an explicit distinction between what is legal and what is ethical? That is, is the code clear that, while an action may be legal, it may not be ethical?
Finally, how well does your professional code of ethics align with the mission and values statement of your hospital? Can you imagine a situation in which following one would make it challenging to follow the other?
Instructions
For this assessment you will apply some concepts we have learned in the course, particularly those relating to the basic principles of health care ethics, professional codes of ethics, and values of health care institutions.
Write a paper that answers the following questions as it relates to the Tonya Archer Case Study:
What are the most relevant end-of-life issues in health care ethics as they relate to this case?
What should the hospital do? Should doctors simply keep Tonya on life support, as the parents want? Or, since all medical evidence indicates that Tonya’s brain damage is permanent, should life support be removed?
Support your answer with the following considerations in mind:
Explain which principles of health care ethics and which moral theory are the best philosophical foundations for your view.
Is your view supported by your professional code of ethics? If so, explain how. If not, explain what your code gets wrong about a case like this.
Is your view consistent with the mission statement and values of the hospital you identified in your independent research you conducted to prepare to complete this assessment?
Would an accrediting body, like the Joint Commission, support your choice? Why or why not?
Submission Requirements
Your paper should meet the following requirements:
Written communication: Written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: Resources and citations are formatted according to current APA style and formatting guidelines.
Length: 2–3 typed, double-spaced pages.
Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
Tonya Archer’s Case Study on End-of-Life Issues
In health care, doctors and nurses do everything they can within their power to help patients recover. Health care workers guarantee that the patient’s health is not jeopardized at any moment by following ethical principles, professional norms of behavior, and a personal willingness to restore health and wellness. However, certain circumstances force health care practitioners to operate in ways that are not expected of them. When they urge a patient’s death if there are no hopes of recovery, this is a good illustration. Such scenarios, like Tonya Archer’s, can lead to controversy, especially when patients and their families refuse to consent. This paper delves into Tonya Archer’s case study, focusing on the case’s concepts of health care ethics, professional codes of ethics, and the perspectives of accrediting authorities like the Joint Commission.
Moral Theory and Health-Care Ethics Principles
End-of-life issues are divisive, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution to dealing with them. Given Tonya’s severe brain injury and the fact that life support will merely prolong death rather than aid recovery, Tonya’s family will need to be persuaded. When looking at this case, the most important end-of-life problem is the parents’ right to make end-of-life decisions for their children. When a patient is in a situation where making an individual decision is impossible, families act as proxies, according to Karnik and Kanekar (2016). It’s also crucial to follow the notion of useless care. The message here is that, while it is critical to sustain life as much as possible, it is irrational to continue to use family finances and hospital resources for surgeries that will not result in any beneficial results and for which outcomes can be predicted.
The question that must be answered before making a final choice is whether the hospital should keep Tonya on life support because it is her parents’ wish, or if life support should be stopped because all medical evidence shows full brain death. From a medical standpoint, health care practitioners can make judgments based on scientific facts and legal precedent. The majority of bioethicists believe that the diagnosis of brain death is sufficient to justify the removal of life support (Muramoto, 2016). Similarly, the law generally supports a hospital’s decision to stop providing life support. If the case goes to court, the courts are likely to order limited reasonable accommodations to allow for a second opinion on the diagnosis or to accommodate religious concerns. Because it has not yet reached that point, the ideal strategy is to demonstrate to the parents the consequences of their decision and why the hospital’s decision is the best for the kid, family, and hospital.
Moral theories also serve as philosophical underpinnings for ethical decision-making. The deontological theory is the most appropriate in this circumstance. The core premise of deontological ethics is that the morality of an activity should be determined by whether it is right or wrong. Instead of considering the repercussions of an action, rules should be considered (Mandal et al., 2016). Because the guidelines [medical and legal] favor terminating life support if the patient’s condition is irreversible, terminating life support is the best option. According to the deontology hypothesis, moral responsibility is derived from a set of principles that may conflict with personal preferences, as in the case of Tonya’s parents.
Code of Ethics for Professionals
Health care providers, like other employees, should offer services and make decisions in accordance with the professional code of ethics. The decision was taken in accordance with the professional code of functioning competently within our area of knowledge and education. This is, without a doubt, the most crucial code to examine because it would prevent any ethical or legal concerns in the future. The other code is to show empathy and respect to patients and their families while respecting their autonomy and privacy. It’s also critical to offer consulting services. Because autonomy is a contentious issue, it is critical that Tonya’s parents grasp the situation well and be directed from a medical standpoint, rather than being swayed by emotions or love for the kid, which can be deceptive.
Mission and Values of the Hospital
Health-care organizations deliver services in accordance with standard practice guidelines. They are also guided by their own ideas, missions, and values. The hospital chosen through independent study looks forward to providing care that meets the needs of all patients and their families. Its mission is to be the state’s foremost health-care provider while adhering to the highest standards of excellence, quality, and safety. Honesty, competence, and holistic thinking are among the most important virtues. When considering Tonya’s case, it’s clear that terminating life support is in line with the hospital’s mission, vision, and values. Ending life support is based on excellence and honesty, and it enhances patient safety, notwithstanding the parents’ reservations.
Accredited Bodies’ Assistance
Various recognized entities have distinct responsibilities in health regulation and quality assurance. The Joint Commission believes that life support should be phased out. It advises on how to use medication properly and how to recognize patient safety hazards. Overall, the most recent guidelines emphasize patient safety and care quality (The Joint Commission, 2021). The Joint Commission would accept the decision since safety and quality standards have been met and can be defended from a medical and legal standpoint.
Finally, Tonya’s case study demonstrates the debates surrounding the use of life-sustaining operations. The autonomy of patients and their families should be respected when determining whether a procedure is unnecessary and wastes health-care resources. It is critical to consider making satisfactory and medically and ethically correct decisions as health care workers behave according to their professional code of ethics. The ultimate decision should always put the patient’s health, safety, and well-being first.