Bioethics Test #2 Question Samples!

Why is confidentiality important in the healthcare context?

• it protects patients medical info and builds a relationship and trust between patients and medical professionals

Should a commitment to confidentiality always be absolute or are there exceptions?

I think confidentiality should not always be absolute because there are some cases, such as the Tarasoff vs Regents of University of California, where maintaining confidentiality can cause harm to others or oneself, so if it poses a threat, confidentiality SHOULD NOT BE KEPT

What is a ‘duty to warn’ and what are its implications for confidentiality?

• duty to warn is the responsibility of a healthcare prof to warn an identifiable person when a patient poses a serious threat of harm to them

• if this is the case then confidentiality has to be broken

Should healthcare professionals always tell patients the truth? Why or why not?

• I believe they should always tell patients the truth because I feel their job is act in the best interest for their patients. Even if the diagnosis might be difficult to hear, they deserve to know the truth so they can make informed decisions abt healthcare and choose how they want to cope with this

What is epistemic justice and how does it apply to healthcare?

• epistemic justice is to treat people fairly as knowers of knowledge and respecting their ability to understand and communicate their own experiences

• this applies to healthcare because of how medical professionals have to truly listen to patients and their health issues and preferences and not put their own decision at the top above theirs

What does Reynolds think are 3 important things for clinicians to know about disability?

1. the duality of life and how disability does not mean lower quality of life

2. problem of ableism and how there is no such thing as normal

3. disability vs disease/illness how disability does not equal suffering

What are clinicians responsibilities to disabled communities

1. Develop disability humility (learning abt disability thru binocular view; understand medical and social understanding of disability)

2. Communicate better with patient abt disability

3. Recognize the authority of ppl with disabilities as experts about their own lives and communities

What is informed consent and why is it important in Bioethics?

Informed consent is the action of an autonomous, informed person agreeing to submit to medical treatment/experimentation

• it is important because it helps to protect and respect patient autonomy and promotes trust

What are the key criteria needed to establish informed consent

• disclosure

• understanding

• voluntary

Clinical Equipoise

- undecided or unsure but want to know and is hopeful with medical community abt preferred treatment 

• need to know if a new intervention treatment actually works

what are the two forms of consent discussed by Faden and Beauchamp

sense 1 - informed consent as autonomous authorization

sense 2 - informed consent as a legal/institutional concept

What factors can make informed consent difficult to establish in some cases

• lack of competence

• lack of understanding

• inadequate disclosure

• consent to treatment

• cultural differences

Are there situations where the requirement of informed consent should not apply?

Yes, there are some situations with some being

• medical emergencies

• lack of decision-making capacity

• waivers

What are some of the historical reasons for the contemporary emphasis on research ethics?

1. nuremberg code

2. declaration of helsinki

3. belmont report

What ethical standards are required to protect human subjects of medical research

• informed consent

• beneficence

• respect for autonomy

• justice

• confidentiality

three key principles of Belmont Report

1. respect for persons

2. beneficence

3. justice

nuremberg code

• voluntary informed consent is essential

• risks must be justified by the potential benefits of the research

• protecting human research participants from unethical experimentation

declaration of helsinki

• built on nuremberg code

• addresses ethical issues, specifically when physicians conduct medical research

• risk vs benefit: researchers should assess potential risks and benefits and minimize harm

• research props should be reviewed by ethics committee before study begins

belmont report

• developed in response to unethical research studies including Tuskegee Syphilis Study and Willowbrook hepatitis studies

• established three major ethical principles

In what ways, if any, do you think ethics codes like the Belmont Report should be updated?

• updated to address modern medical technologies like AI

• ensure participants personal info is protected

• ensure fairness and protection for vulnerable populations