Principles Of Healthcare Ethics

Running head: WRITTEN OPINION PIECE 1
Opinion Piece: A Health Care Professional (HCP) Experiencing Violence from A Patient Has
the Right to Refuse Treatment Provision
Name
Institutional Affiliation

WRITTEN OPINION PIECE 2
Introduction
Healthcare workers are exposed to high risks of violence in their work settings.
Workplace violence in healthcare settings is a common and underreported phenomenon with
reports indicating that between 8% and 38% have experience physical violence at least once
in their careers. Patients and visitors account for the highest perpetrators of violence in the
workplace (Alsaleem et al. 2018). Violence has a negative impact on the healthcare
providers, who are left in a dilemma of whether to refuse to threat the patient, or to continue
their services. In my opinion, healthcare professionals who experience violence from a
patient has no right to refuse to provide healthcare services to the patient. The healthcare
professional must continue attending to the patient with while following the necessary
standards of practice. Therefore, I oppose the topic that "A health care professional (HCP)
experiencing violence from a patient has the right to refuse treatment provision.”
Refusal to Treat is a Violation of Professional Ethical Principles
Failing to provide healthcare services to violent patient goes against the ethical
principles of healthcare. The principle of beneficence provides a guide for decision-making in
such dilemmas (Summers & Morrison, 2009). When a healthcare provider is faced with a
situation to choose whether to do right or good, is an ethical priority and may provide a
solution to the issue. The provision is similar to the principle of utility which states that it is
important to generate the largest possible ratio of good over evil. In the situation where a
patent unleashes violence on a healthcare provider, the choice to continue with care provision
entails doing good, over failure to attend to the patient. Patients often experience
psychological distress and anxiety that may trigger uncontrolled emotion.
Healthcare providers are ethically expected to act to ensure least harm in situations of
clinical dilemma. In the situation of violence, failure to provide care to the patent may cause
deterioration of his or her condition, which could cause more harm than violence against the