Ethical Dilemma Analysis: Healthcare Ethics, Codes, and Principles

This essay delves into the complexities of ethical dilemmas within healthcare, focusing on a case study involving a primary health care center manager's fraudulent activities. It identifies the ethical conflict arising from the manager's actions and the potential closure of the center, which would negatively impact the marginalized community. The essay proposes a legally and ethically sound approach to resolve the conflict, considering relevant healthcare ethics principles such as beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, and autonomy, alongside professional codes of conduct and the Australian Charter of Healthcare Rights. The analysis emphasizes the importance of upholding ethical standards, ensuring patient safety, and advocating for the well-being of the community. The essay highlights the significance of transparency, accountability, and the need for healthcare workers to adhere to ethical guidelines to maintain public trust and provide quality care. The document also includes references to relevant literature and resources to support the analysis.

AN ETHICAL
DILEMMA

An ethical dilemma is a state of confusion in the minds with respect of choosing among
the two morally acceptable options or choosing two unacceptable options. This dilemma occurs
because of the fact that both the options cannot be chosen together. Opting one option foregoes
the another option and this is the reason why the dilemma occurs (Monrouxe, 2017). The
occurrences of ethical dilemmas are not necessary occurred in the minds of just the doctors, it
can be there in the minds of nurses, people, family members, medical staff etc. The main aim is
to get rid of the ethical dilemmas and to conquer the same via a means of ethical means and not
following the unethical means of solving or getting out of those dilemmas.
Ethics basically means resolving the two conflicting issues with the help of some moral
principles which one has learnt. A principle is basically is guiding force towards the achievement
of objectives. The main reason why these conflicts arise is because of the mindset of two
different individuals. As individuals perceive things differently. Hence the main conflict is
because of the priority order which I set in the minds of people regarding the principles and this
result into conflicts.
Ethics exist everywhere. The workplace ethics is a practice of following the ethics even
at the workplace. Ethical dilemmas in the health care mean the conflicting behaviors that have
the potential of becoming a problem. For example: nurse not responding to the relatives about
the patient condition as per their professional ethics becomes a conflict in the mind of the
relatives. There are various ethical dilemmas faced by the patients, family members, staff
includes the following such as decisions regarding the life end, confidentiality of the professional
people, conflicts with the providers of health care, regarding pain control (Lind Irgens, 2016).
Clashes between the family members and the doctors are seemed to be very common.
There are various issues regarding the human dignity and the human rights. Human
dignity refers to the respect for the human being whereas on the other hand, human rights are the
fundamental rights which are entitled to all the individuals and the same is not judged by their
capabilities. This is given to them by birth. There are various ethical principles which includes
the Respect for the Persons convey two important message which are that the individuals should
be treated with dignity and the people should not be biased on the basis of their caste, gender etc.
and the second message being the people with less powers should not be demined. In short, this
means giving respect to all the people and not segregating them on any basis. The people with
fewer powers are needed to be given with extensive protection so that they do not feel
diminished.
Another principle is of Beneficence, which that just by respecting the decisions and
protecting the people will not serve their purpose; the efforts should be laid on securing their
well being. This can be done by providing them with the maximum benefits and also aims at
reducing the harms which can otherwise be caused to them. Hence this principle lays in the
hands o the doctors as well as the medical staff to protect the interests of the patients by adopting
the ethical measures. This does not mean to check the status only once it means regular

monitoring the people and do good to them becomes a part of their duty. This means that the
doctors should suggest the patients in the correct way by diagnosing everything without checking
the patients health no such decisions should be taken.
The next principle is that of the Nonmaleficence, which exactly means do not
harm meaning that the physician in order to cure the patient by injecting vaccine Tetanus, but
this same can be treated as maleficence when the same cure by injecting a needle through the
skin which in turn causing pain and that arises the possibility of side effects and infection.
Another principle being Justice, this means the fairness in the part of distribution of the benefits
of distributing the benefits. The injustice occurs when the benefits which are deserved by the
people are not given to them for any good reason (Monrouxe, 2017). The pressurized situation also
comes under this category. In this case, the concern is the distribution of the scarce medical
resources and who shall be treated first. Here the main concern lies with conquering the
inequality and treating the people with same respect and not distinguishing them on any basis.
Hence these principles should be followed at the workplace.
Another principle is of Autonomy, it means that the adult has the capacity and the
freedom of taking its own decisions and has the right to know what is exactly done to his body.
As individuals go to doctor for the guidance or for knowing what are going through and if the
patient feels that the treatment given to him is not helpful or is dangerous he may ask the doctors
to stop the same and on the part of the doctors it is very important for the patients to have full
information about the disease and also about the treatment given to them. But the principle of
autonomy comes only with the competence and the capacity of the persons to make the
decisions. This can not only be judged with the age of the person. This can be decided only on
the basis of knowledge possessed by the patients of the disease pertaining to them. Hence this is
left on the part of the physicians to decide the capacity and competence of the patients and base
their decisions accordingly on these grounds.
According to the chosen case study number sixth, the main issue here is of Veracity,
which means that the issue is regarding the fraud on the part of the Center manager. As in this
case as the primary health care center is the only center in the locality and closedown of that
center will increase lot many problems in that area as this primary health care center is the only
center and the other nearby center would be seventy kilometers away and that will in turn
increase the problems of the local people (Chaar, 2015). As the center was engaged in providing
the facilities to the people of marginalized backgrounds who suffer from the chronic diseases and
these people will have no access to the center as they lack financial resources to approach a big
and renowned hospital. Because of the fraud done by the center manager as using the budget for
his own financial gain leads to the shutdown of the center which will in turn cause problem to lot
many people. Hence this issue should be seen by the authorities as this is against the professional
code of conduct. Because of the closedown, not only the teal but many people will get affected
by it. Hence this matter should be disclosed to the higher authorities and necessary actions
should be taken and efforts should be made to pass the budget for the better functioning of the

health care center for the benefit of the people residing in that area as the center manager cannot
be dismissed from the job as he is a great asset to the health care center as his knowledge and
experience cannot be challenged.
To address this issue there is a code of conduct which one has to follow to be in the
boundaries. The professional code of conduct is the support that is expected from the health care
workers. The code of conduct outlines the behaviors and attitudes of the health care personnel
which one can expect to experience and this code of conduct makes sure about the patients
safety, and the ongoing care and support. The code of conduct is not applied to them by force
this is assumed to have followed for the sake of better services. The professional code of conduct
basically binds all the workers and gives them the direction to proceed further.
The code of conduct for the health care workers in Australia includes the following
clauses which are as follows- the services provided by the health care workers should be safe and
the manner in which they are conducted is ethical in approach. Any treatment which is done by
them is only after obtaining the consent from the person as if the consent is not obtained and the
treatment is proceeded then even the legal actions can be taken against them on the account of
lack of prior knowledge on the part of the health care workers. The main task o the health care
worker is to make the required facilities available to the person and make the person know about
the disease and taking further permissions and approvals for proceeding with the treatment after
informing all the outcomes which can occur. In the adverse conditions the health care person
should work with utmost care and caution and should take appropriate actions to make the entire
situation in control.
Health care workers should never mislead the people about the intensity of the disease
and the financial resources which will be required by them to diagnose the disease. They should
not exploit the patients financially by demanding higher amount of pay for the treatment. The
health care workers should not discriminate between the patients on the basis of their caste,
color, gender or any other grounds. The confidentiality which they are expected to maintain
should be followed by them they should not reveal their practices outside the boundaries.
When such things are asked to follow, the burden arises when some of these are not
followed and such things are taken care of by the authorities. One such name is Australian
Charter Of Healthcare Rights which was developed in 2007 and 2008 with the aim of providing
the patients with the extensive resources and making them aware about their rights and duties
when they are taking any health care services. This charter helps the patients, consumers, and the
families and guiding them to proceed. The basic aim is to help the people come together and
work towards the safety and also aims at providing a high class facility to the patients.
The above charter is based on three main principles which are: firstly the access to this
available to everyone and on the basis of that each and every person can address his or her needs
and desire regarding the same. The second principle is the commitment given by the Australian

Government to protect the basic human rights of the individuals and every individual has the
right to seek the highest standard of mental and the physical health. Lastly the third principle is
about the respect which is expected to be given by the health care workers to the people
irrespective of the fact that they belong to different cultures and backgrounds and treating all the
people in the same way without and discrimination done on them. Further various principles
about the privacy of one’s personal information is not allowed to be disclosed among the people.
There should be proper communication done about the disease, treatment, services and the costs
which are expected to incur in the due course of time. Any compliant or concern of the people on
the account of any health care provided to them or to their family members shall be addressed by
the proper authority quickly and promptly.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Monrouxe, L.V. and Rees, C.E., 2017. Teaching and Learning Healthcare Professionalism. Healthcare
Professionalism: Improving Practice through Reflections on Workplace Dilemmas. pp.31-49.
Monrouxe, L.V. and Rees, C.E., 2017. Healthcare professionalism: improving practice through reflections on
workplace dilemmas. John Wiley & Sons.
Lind Irgens, E., Henriksen, N. and Moe, S., 2016. Acquired brain injury rehabilitation: dilemmas in neurological
physiotherapy across healthcare settings. European Journal of Physiotherapy. 18(4). pp.202-209.
Rees, C.E., Monrouxe, L.V. and Ajjawi, R., 2014. Professionalism in workplace learning: understanding
interprofessional dilemmas through healthcare student narratives. Exploring the Dynamics of Personal,
Professional and Interprofessional Ethics, pp.295-310.
Chaar, B., 2015. Ethical dilemmas: Bullying in the pharmacy workplace.Australian Pharmacist. 34(7). p.70.