The Element Of Individualism In The American Culture

Ethical Codes
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Ethical Codes
Different cultures have different ethical codes and these determine the way that people interact within the society. This is true in the general interactions between the different cultures, but in this paper, the focus is largely on health care. Between the United States and China, there are differences in the ethical codes used especially with reference to communicating sensitive information to patients (Feldman, Zhang & Cummings, 1999). The element of individualism in the American culture compared to the Chinese collectivism is the basis for the different ethical codes.
Chinese physicians have been found to give more weight to family preferences than is the case with US based physicians. This is to mean that the physicians are more willing to follow what the families want for their patient more than they are follow the wishes of the patient (Feldman, Zhang & Cummings, 1999). This is completely opposite for the US physicians who are more concerned with what the patient wants other than the family. It is also interesting to note that the Chinese are as forthcoming with sensitive information about diagnosis for terminal illnesses such as cancer (Feldman, Zhang & Cummings, 1999). This is different ...