Ethics in Medical Practice

Ethics in Medical Practice
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Ethics in Medical Practice
The Dilemma
The physician does the right thing of seeking permission to initiate treatment of the child from the parents. This is in line with the principle of consent, which guides the physicians. Obtaining informed consent is a legal and ethical necessity of treating a patient. The dilemma thus is left with the parents and considering the urgency of the treatment, need to make the decisions immediately. The mother who has primary custody of the child is a Christian scientist who insists treatment not to be offered for religious reasons and the father, who lives in another state, insists that treatment be given. The dilemma here is whether the physician should give the treatment for a good course. This is to save the life of the young boy.
Social Decision-making Model
The social model suggests that humans have bundles of feelings, emotions and instincts and that their behavior is guided by their unconscious desires. Meningitis is a serious disease, and if it is diagnosed early and treated promptly, one can make a complete recovery. However, in case of the treatment is delayed, the patient might become very ill and deteriorate rapidly. Thus, prompt treatment can make the difference between life and death (Hughes, 2006).
The physician is faced with an undead situation, where he has to do something distasteful in the short term to do something desirable in the long run. The mother of the child has a primary custody over the child. Thus, her decision has to be respected. The father is residing in another state and is not available to make a prompt decision although he wants the treatment on the child to commence. If the physician has the capability of commencing the treatment, then he should do a wrong of not considering the mother’s decision and religious believe to save the life of the young boy.
Decisions based on the social decision making are often intuitive. The decisions should be made based on the inner knowing, or some sense of what is right. In this dilemma, the physician has the information of how serious the disease can be if it is not treated promptly. Thus to do what is right, he has to give the treatment and wait to explain to the parents why he chose to act as he did (Parker, 2011).
My Take
In this case, the dilemma is with the physician. Thus, if I were the physician, I would overlook the principle of consent of the child and that of the parents. By starting the treatment on the young b...