Module I

This week I reviewed many of the ethics websites recomended including those concerning ethical decision frameworks. I think this is a great idea. In the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (A book from Capstone), the author reccomends having simple rules to make quick and complex decisions. When used in a hospital, simple rules helped reduce unecessary costs, helped better utilize valuable resources and potentially save lives within one complex triage situation. I believe the same pattern of thought can apply to healthcare ethics in certain re-occuring situations. I think as one gains more experience in healthcare one may better aptly personalize the suggested rules found in these websites. Currently, in my internship I often speak with experienced administrators. No matter what the decision made in terms of human resource issues such as discipline, performance standards etc. I was advised to always be consistent in order to gain respect and employee loyalty. So in essence go through a framework to make ethical decisions in human resources.

I also found a comment on MDPME website to be very helpful. It said that if you told your decision to someone you admire what would their reaction be? Whether it be an old teacher, my grandfather, my father, Jesus or an old friend, I think this will be something I will definitely use in the future. I think this is the sort of tool where you can accurately gauge whether your "gut reaction" is headed in the right direction. However it is also important to remember not only certain people to make correct decisions but also remembering poor decision makers in order to not make these same mistakes again. After watching the Capstone required film, ENRON: The Smartest Guys in the Room, it always reminds me never to do anything I have a problem without question just because I was told to.

I found the overview of ethical theories fairly interesting. I've always thought that morals and ethics are two different things. Morals are more of the self-evident good vs. bad, whereas ethics are the accepted standards of behavior within a group or culture. I found moral relativism to be very confusing. With ethics so much is situational. Are there universal standards of moral judgements? If there are they would have to be very basic such as do not kill, steal, cheat....but even still there are always exceptions. For example, shooting someone in self defense etc. I definitely do not think just because a person thinks something is morally right does not make it so and just because a large group of people agree that something is morally right does not make it so. I don't know but I've always found philosophical theories just aggravating since there will never be a fully correct theory.