Leaders in any organization are faced with ethical issues in their daily decision-making activities. Situations arise where leaders are faced with ethical dilemmas in their decisions and need to consider many options before arriving at the final decision. Dealing with ethical dilemma can be one of the most troublesome works for managers especially at such a time where many organizations have been put under strict scrutiny for their ethical conducts. It requires a manager to develop experience and the right skills to for making ethical decisions. Without the right skills and experience in making the right decisions, ethical dilemmas can always result in severe consequences. This paper examines the ethical dilemmas that managers face in their daily decision-making processes, with an illustration from various case studies.
Chosen Profession
The case study research will examine ethics in physical therapy. Physical therapists provide services that help maintain, develop and restore the people’s maximum movement and functional ability. They work to help people whose movement has been threatened by injury, aging, diseases or any other health conditions. I have chosen this profession for my research because it is the field I intend to enter for my practice. Also, this field is best suited for my research due to the increasing scrutiny over the ethical conduct within the health care profession. Ethics are the moral principles that govern the behavior of people or conducting an activity. It deals with the moral principles of what is good and what is bad.
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Case Studies
Healthcare sector has recently come under scrutiny over their ethical conducts amid calls from the stakeholders to improve the quality of the services. Physical therapy is an area that can experience many ethical issues that managers will have to handle. The case study research will examine ethics in physical therapy. Physical therapists provide services that help maintain, develop and restore the people’s maximum movement and functional ability. They work to help people whose movement has been threatened by injury, aging, diseases or any other health conditions.
Case Study 1
In this case study, a health care center realizes that a dozen patients recently received radiation in excess of what had been prescribed. The person physician responsible for the procedure has been asked to resign. The management and the staff are however uncomfortable informing the patients for fear of loss of reputation, medical malpractice and institutional liability exposure and loss of confidence from the members of the community. The ethical dilemma in this case study is to choose between informing the patients of the error during radiation and face the consequences that could come with it or keep it a secret and risk exposing the patients to further health complications. The staff and management of the healthcare organization is caught in the ethical issues of professional ethical standards, patient’s rights to know, need for transparency in the healthcare and legal obligations. The healthcare organization chose to remain silent over the issue, and this resulted to further medical complications for the patients. Patients have the right to know information about their care and the care professionals have an obligation to remain transparent and uphold the professional code of ethics ( Cerit & Dinç, 2013 ).
I chose this ethical dilemma because it involves the need for the healthcare leaders to make a decision between upholding the professional code of conduct and transparency and the fear of loss of reputation as well as loss of reputation. A decision of either option would result in some severe consequences putting the manager in an awkward position. This ethical dilemma will increase my ability to make an ethical decision guided by the professional code of ethics as a future leader.
Case Study 2
Mr. Smith is taken to a physical therapy center after acquiring a severe fracture in his lower abdomen from an accident. He is unable to walk and is in a lot of pain. The doctor tells the family that the degree of injury is so serious that he will have to stay at the healthcare facility for so long. However, Mr. Smith is undergoing a lot of pain and feels he cannot bear it anymore. He secretly asks the doctor for an assisted suicide. He asks the doctor to inject him with a medication that will slowly kill him. The doctor is in an ethical dilemma whether to grant the patient his request or remain to the professional code and mission. The patients have the right to be heard and choose how they want their treatment to be done. However, health care professionals have the mission of helping improve the health outcome of patients and not to help them lose their lives. Assisted suicide has raised an ethical dilemma as it is found between respecting the rights of the patients and adhering to the goals of a care provider ( Cerit & Dinç, 2013 ). The doctor refuses to grant Smith his wish and the patient says he does not want to receive any treatment in the healthcare.
I chose this ethical dilemma because it is one of the most controversial issues that has raised ethical dilemmas in the healthcare sector. Many patients ask for assisted suicide, claiming that they have the right to make decisions over their death. However, nurses and physicians have the duty to provide the best care and improve health outcome of patients, not to help them die. This case study will help in my future leadership as I will understand how to make an ethical decision in this area of concern.
Case Study 3
The people involved in this case study are a 56-year-old man who has been admitted to a healthcare facility for physical therapy after developing walking problems when he suffered from a stroke. The man, who says that he is a white supremacist ask the nurse to ensure that a person providing care for him is not a Caucasian nurse. The nurse is in an ethical dilemma between respecting the right and request of the patient to honor racial preferences or adhere to the professional code of conduct which states that honoring the racial preferences amounts to ethical behavior. The patient is in a critical condition and needs urgent care. The nurse decides to accept the request of the patient and break the law which prohibits honoring of prejudicial preferences. Health care professionals are usually prohibited by the law to honor a request that is racial and discriminating in nature ( Cerit & Dinç, 2013 ).
I chose this ethical dilemma due to the increasing cases of patients who have made racial preference requests thus putting healthcare professionals at a position of either adhering to these requests or remaining within the line of professional code of conduct. What caught my attention is the fact that a patient is in a critical condition and makes a racial request concerning his treatment thus putting the nurses into a difficult situation. This ethical dilemma has made me understand what the law states concerning racially based request while resolving an ethical dilemma. This will help my future leadership in the field of physical therapy.
Case Study 4
The case study involves Tammy, a 17-year-old boy who has been admitted to a health care facility after he developed lung cancer. He is in serious pain and unable to walk. A physical therapist is called to help attend to him and manage his pain. Tests show that Tammy developed lung cancer after being an active tobacco smoker. He does not want his father to know that he has been smoking and therefore asks the physician not to disclose the information to his father. The father, on the other hand, insists that he needs to know what caused his son the illness and claims he suspects use of some drug. Put in between the need to protect the privacy of the patient and to be transparent to the father so that the boy can be assisted; the physician decides to disclose the information to the father. Tammy refuses to receive treatment in the hospital saying he be transferred to another care facility because the physician has violated his privacy rights. Patients have the right to privacy and confidentiality, and the physicians must consider situations that are necessary to violate this right ( Shapiro & Stefkovich, 2016 ).
I chose this ethical dilemma due to the rising cases of patients’ privacy violations. There are many instances where the rights of patients have been violated, some even leading to lawsuits. Understanding this dilemma and the consequences of every decision is therefore relevant for a future leader to gain the knowledge for effective decision making in such an area. Executive leaders must provide leadership to employees in a way that promotes ethical conduct and uphold the moral principles of the organization.
Ethical Behavior in Health Care Industry (Physical Therapy)
Executive leaders must understand ways to deal with ethical issues in an organization. Ethical dilemmas in the healthcare sector might arise from the conduct of the employees, the patients or the leader. Handling such dilemmas require an individual to still to the moral values, usually based on what is right and wrong. Adhering to the professional code of conduct is such one step to help a leader make ethical decisions and avoid ethical dilemmas ( Fryer, 2014 ). However, situations where the professional code of conduct seems to raise an ethical issue, using moral judgment can help in decision making. Relying on the theories and principles of ethical decision making can help managers make the right and most rational decisions when faced with an ethical issue. The ethical theories which focus on doing what is right and what has the greatest benefit to the majority can be useful in making ethical decisions.
Ethical dilemmas remain one of the most challenging issues to managers. When faced with a situation that presents two alternatives both which seem to affect one side, leaders must strive to remain reasonable in the course of their decisions and use moral values to make decisions. Physical therapists are faced with many ethical decisions in their daily practice, and as a leader, one must understand the broader scope of the issues involved and how well to deal with them.
References
Fryer, M. (2014). Ethics theory and business practice . Sage.
Shapiro, J. P., & Stefkovich, J. A. (2016). Ethical leadership and decision making in education: Applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas . Routledge.
Cerit, B., & Dinç, L. (2013). Ethical decision-making and professional behaviour among nurses: a correlational study. Nursing ethics , 20 (2), 200-212.
