HSS 261 Unit 2 – Discussion Board
What ethical principles are involved in this case and what are the steps in the ethical decision-making process that the dentist should use to come to an ethical decision?
With the way the patient was telling her she did not help him he is very wrong. The dentist told him the best way to take care of his pain and he refused treatment. The ethical decision for this is to do what is right for the patient. The dentist should use Nonmaleficene to show she will not harm him. Also she should use autonomy to show the patient that she is informing him of the right decision for his welfare. The patient is showing signs of addiction to narcotics by saying that vicodin is what helps him with his pain.
If you were the dentist. what do you think is the best ethical decision and why?
If I were the dentist I would tell the patient I will not prescribe a narcotic to you when you don’t need one because inflammation is what is causing the pain. Using vicodin is not going to stop the inflammation. Ibuprofen will help with the inflammation which in turn using tylenol for the pain will help you to feel better. If the patient refuses I would tell him that is what the treatment is and that is all I can do for you.
Primary Response is due by Thursday (11:59:59pm Central), Peer Responses are due by Saturday (11:59:59pm Central).
Primary Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 200–250 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.
For this Discussion Board, please complete the following:
Ethical dilemmas in healthcare are not always about life and death, but these are faced by healthcare professionals every day in their interactions with patients. Consider the scenario in this video about a patient’s request for painkillers to relieve his dental pain:
After viewing the video and considering the possible decisions that the dentist can make, answer the following questions:
- What ethical principles are involved in this case and what are the steps in the ethical decision-making process that the dentist should use to come to an ethical decision?
- If you were the dentist, what do you think is the best ethical decision and why?
Responses to Other Students: Respond to at least 2 of your fellow classmates with at least a 50–100-word reply about their Primary Response regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening. To help you with your discussion, please consider the following question:
- What differences or similarities do you see between your posting and other classmates’ postings?
For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, Web resources, and all course materials.
Discussion Board Rubric
| Expectation | Points Possible | Points Earned | Comments |
| Application of Learning Material Content: Post demonstrates understanding of Learning Material content. |
20 |
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| Application of Course Knowledge: Post contributes unique perspectives or insights gleaned from personal experience or examples from discipline. |
20 |
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| DB Responses: Responds substantively to two posts. Responses encourage interaction in the Discussion Board and classroom community. |
20 |
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| Organization: Post presents information logically and is clearly relevant to discussion topic. |
8 |
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| Professional Language: Posts contain accurate grammar, spelling, and punctuation with few or no errors. (APA formatting is not required.) |
7 |
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Total Points |
75 |
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Total Points Earned |
View a downloadable version of the Discussion Board Grading Rubric.
Reference
American College of Dentists. (2018, May 10). ACD ethical dilemma–patient in pain [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NlBhxLLBRw
What ethical principles are involved in this case and what are the steps in the ethical decision-making process that the dentist should use to come to an ethical decision?
These are the ethical principles I witnessed the Urgent Care Physician, also the Dentist used to try and help this patient:
I feel Dr. Tapell was very professional in her findings of Mr. Euing’s pain, she did her oral exam, then a Panagraphic X-ray. She practiced beneficence, respect, and autonomy. She explained his three upper left teeth were bad, could have chronic infection, and these teeth needed to be extracted immediately _ in order for Mr. Parker Euing to have relief. Dr. Tapell offered to extract immediately, Mr. Euing I felt wasn’t in urgent pain, he said not today. He did however, ask for pain medication. Dr. Tapell suggested he take ibuprofen every six hours , she explained this was an anti inflammatory which helps with his infection, and use acetaminophen as needed for his pain relief.
If you were the dentist, what do you think is the best ethical decision and why?
Mr. Euing wasn’t satisfied , he was angry, he proclaimed Dr. Tapell wasn’t doing her job. He suggested Vicodin , he’d taken his wife’s, they seemed to help. Dr Tapell explained Motrin and Tylenol work together in helping with infection and pain. Vicodin wasn’t going to help with the infection, it would be better to take her choice of medication. Mr. Parker went so far as to say mal-practice. I feel she did everything possible for him. Dr. Tapell practiced beneficence, respect , autonomy, and distributed justice. Mr. Euing didn’t have the time to get these teeth extracted, it was his choice to leave. I would have done the exact care of this patient as Dr Tapell did.
Sincerely,
Good afternoon,
What ethical principles are involved in this case and what are the steps in the ethical decision making process that the dentist should use to come to an ethical decision?
The ethical principles involved in this case include autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, and veracity. Understanding these principles ensures that the patients needs are met within the ethical guidelines and that the best quality of care is provided. Patient autonomy is crucial when the patient is involved in the decision making process once the patient understands their diagnosis allowing them to make an informed decision. Nonmaleficence means to do no harm which requires the dentist to have the skills and knowledge to treat. Beneficence is the principal that states that the professional have a duty to do good to benefit others. Justice or fairness is delivering care without prejudice and veracity is the principal that involves respect, trust and honesty. The ethical decision making process was well defined in the scenario. The dentist defined the problem by completing an X-ray and an exam. She discussed her findings and gave her recommendations. She provided a couple of potential solutions on how and when the treatment could begin and offered some alternatives. The dentist displayed emotional intelligence and professionalism. She explained the benefits of the medications and the importance of taking these medications until the extractions could be performed. If it is not medically indicated, ethically, the narcotic that the patient is requesting should not be given until after the procedure has been completed.
If you were the dentist, what do you think is the best ethical decision and why?
If I was the dentist, I would have handled this situation in the same manner. As healthcare professionals, we ought to provide safe, timely, effective and efficient patient centered care. The patients expectations are that their healthcare provider is skilled, knowledgeable and trustworthy, therefore, comprehensive, coordinated and high quality care should be provided. This also involves effective communication. Once the patient has received the information regarding their diagnosis, then an informed decision can be made. The best ethical decision in this case involves communicating openly and honestly with the patient regarding the diagnosis, prognosis and stress how important and beneficial the anti-inflammatory medication can be until the extraction is completed and offer a timeline on when the narcotic can be prescribed, which is after the extraction when the narcotic is most beneficial.
Thanks,
Sonya
- What ethical principles are involved in this case and what are the steps in the ethical decision-making process that the dentist should use to come to an ethical decision?
The first ethical principle that I would see involved in this case would be a moral principle. The moral principle because how would the dentist be seen by other providers or by the community if she was the person who gave a narcotic to this person, and something happened to the person? The second would be her professional principle. I am not sure what state this video is taken but I know that here in Nevada you must be in a special pain management program to be able to receive this pain medication. Or be scheduled to have a major surgery in the next couple of days and the doctor wants you to have this medication on hand after the surgery. They don’t give this medication just for a tooth ache.
- If you were the dentist, what do you think is the best ethical decision and why?
I believe that the moral decision would be the best. I believe this decision would be the best, because if the patient really wants to get his teeth out, he will understand that the doctor can not automatically give him the pain killer without losing his license to practice. Also, if he gave the ibuprofen and acetaminophen a try by alternating the medication, he would be surprised how much better he would feel.