Blog # 6

For BLOG #6, discuss your own "working" definition of healthcare ethics. You may need to refer back to previously covered chapters, in addition to consulting Chapters 13 and 14. Think about the following: What morals/values are important to you? What are your moral bottom lines (i.e. how far is too far; what would you quit your job over, etc.)? What kind of healthcare employee (clinical or managerial) do you want to be?

My working definition of healthcare ethics is far from perfect but nonetheless, it is my personal definition. I think healthcare ethics is about being able to distinguish what is right and what is wrong and then being able to actually do what is right and leave the wrong behind. Healthcare ethics involves respect, unity, and being a good person.

I originally stated Viktor Frankl as the theorist that I resonated the most with primarily because I share his philosophy in my life. Frankl believed that people weren't just a body; they were a "total person", with a mind, body, and spirits. Furthermore, he believed that people made decisions based on what they believe in or are committed to and that our conscience is used to choose the best action to finding meaning to any given situation. That is a strong philosophy and those are the type of values/morals that I try to live my life by. I believe in respect, compassion, honesty, in the rightness of things, and seeing people for more than just a "being".

My moral bottom lines include the wrongness aspect of things in life, especially in the healthcare setting. I think my moral bottom line has to be drawn when I see a company/administration doing things that are not ethically correct. Deliberately tampering with billing, talking about patient's private health information, verbally mistreating patients/employees are some of the things that I would definitely not want to be associated with.

The kind of healthcare employee that I currently am and I will continue to be is the kind of person that will stand up for things/people when things are not right/unfair. I am compassionate, honest, respectful, and I believe in unity, and the fact that people are more than just a "being". What we ought to be, not what is: if we were to all follow this motto, the healthcare world and the entire world really, would essentially be near perfection.