Leadership for International Service Learning

Running head: LEADERSHIP FOR INTERNATIONAL SERVICE LEARNING
Leadership for International Service Learning
Student’s Name
Institution

LEADERSHIP FOR INTERNATIONAL SERVICE LEARNING 1
Leadership for International Service Learning
Doctors encounter cases that place them in moral dilemma. However, with the
established principles of clinical practice, one can make an informed decision that can help solve
moral dilemma (Noorozi,Sadat, & Salari, 2018). I will override the patient’s rights and inform
his partner about the HIV status of her partner. This is based on the role we are playing in
combating the spread of HIV. I understand that as a doctor, I owe my patient a duty of respecting
their confidentiality. However, I am also entitled to respect the right to promote awareness about
dangers associated with HIV.
Patient’s confidentiality is not an absolute right. According to Blightman, Griffiths, and
Danbury (2014), the doctor has to take into consideration the benefit of society and the benefit of
the patient. In the given case scenario, the benefit of society is at stake as the young man is likely
to infect many people, which will affect our work in combating the spread of HIV. Muriel (2017)
further explains that the doctor can override the patient’s rights if the benefits outweigh the harm.
Informing the man’s partner who is already eighteen years will benefit her. The two can then sit
together and arrange how they are going with the infection.
Even though the young man claims that his HIV status is his private information,
sometimes the information is not private once it has reached the second party. When handling the
case of private information, the exist conflicts between trust and values of the profession
(Bogaert, 2014). In this case, it is expected that my duty as a doctor is to make sure that I do not
do anything without the patient’s consent. One way is to be held accountable with the patient’s
information. However, Tamim (2015) explains that the duty of the doctor is not all about
preserving the private information, but also to safeguard the sanctity of life. The woman’s health
is at stake in this scenario. The principle of utility requires that one makes a decision that benefits