Introduction
‘When Patient Say ‘It’s in God’s Hands,’’ a clinical case featured in the American Medical Association Journal of Ethics is about a Mr. Adams whose health is put at risk by his lifestyle but he is not is not willing to change for the better with the claim that ‘God is in control.’ The patient believes that a human being can do nothing to their life when God decides to end it. Mr. Adams was diagnosed with diabetes and high cholesterol, but he did not change his lifestyle. Ultimately, this led to a transient ischemic attack. He suffered a minor stroke, but the doctor told him that if he continued smoking and all the other sorts of unhealthy living, he was at risk of getting a major one. However, Mr. Adams is obviously not willing to give up his freestyle living when he says ‘that sounds like a lot’ and tries to justify his unhealthy living by saying that if the Lord decides to take his life, He will do so no matter how healthily he lives.
Dr. Howard, the physician in charge of Mr. Adams condition, uses the patient’s language to convince him into accepting the treatment process. He tells Mr. Adams that God gives his people a chance to make choices. He also informs him that God’s control is not over one’s responsibility. Dr. Howard manages to convince his patient that he has the responsibility to take care of his own life and that cannot be palmed off on God. Mr. Adams is convinced and agrees to listen to a stroke educator, and subsequently gave his diabetes, cholesterol and blood pressure. The question here is whether Dr. Howard is qualified enough to offer religious advice to Mr. Adam. What if they are both from different religions? Does Dr. Howard fully understand Mr. Adam’s religion or does his advice compromise the patient’s faith? There is an issue of how health care providers should deal with cases like the one discussed here. This is because people belong to different religions and they have a right to choose what they believe, but at the same time, the health provider has a responsibility to fulfill.
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Religion/Culture/Ethics Discussion
It is not ethical to lie to the patient for them to accept treatment. Patients also have a right to choose and refuse treatment procedures. Health providers, on the other hand, have the responsibility of advising patients on the dangers that they are faced with if they do not undertake the recommended treatment. Some religions and faiths are based on beliefs that can be proven wrong by science. There is, therefore, the question of whether a health care provider should try to convince their patients out of such beliefs. Would it be unethical or uncultured? Would it also be a violation of the patient’s rights and freedoms? On the other hand, there is also the question of whether it would be unethical for a healthcare provider to let the patients go on with the beliefs that could put their lives at risk. It is hard to determine whether people stick with those beliefs just by choice or due to lack of enlightenment. It is also not possible for a healthcare provider to understand all religions in the world to be able to pose a reasonable argument with the patient about their faith as Dr. Howard did with Mr. Adams.
Conclusion
Religion is an indefinite field, and its issues can be tough to handle. Science is however definite, and healthcare is for the benefit of the patient. It, therefore, would be quite unreasonable to judge a physician like Dr. Howard for trying to convince his patient to accept treatment harmlessly. After all, some of the patients just lack knowledge about the truth of the matter at hand. Bringing the patient to a full understanding of the importance of the treatment in a friendly manner is the best option. However, patients should not be deceived, tricked or forced into treatment procedures as that is against the law.
