I gathered from this chapter that the general concept of
Health Care Communication Ethics requires a sense of responsiveness which can
be translated into “not in what happens to us, but in our response to that which meets us” (195). An example of what this
looks like is an unfortunate circumstance of an individual on their death bed,
and their family surrounding the dying individual; providing responsive care to
nurture the health of his soul and spirit during the last hours of his life. “The
issue of health focuses on how our physical, spiritual, and mental
communication engagements meet particular standards of wellness” (p. 192). Again,
it is not necessarily responding to the clear decline of health, but rather responding
to ultimately provide comfort to the Other.
This chapter of Health Care Communication Ethics also
highlights the concept of humanity within caring for another. “Healthcare
communication ethics reminds us of our humanness” (p. 204), “To be human is to
care; the labor of care is a necessity of our identity” (p. 200). The chapter
also includes all different types of health from sickness, to feeling bad, to
dying.
An example of when I displayed health care communication
ethics is when my grandfather broke his hip and was on put on strict bed rest.
I would go and visit him and bring him treats, magazines, and read stories to
him. This represented the care that I have for not only his physical health,
but for his mental and spiritual well-being also because I knew that he hated
being in a nursing home and he was lonely at times. This makes me question how
some individuals can be unethical in situations similar to this one. The
health care industry has many workers that treat patients unethically and I don’t
understand it. These patients need a specific type of care.
As this chapter emphasizes the protection and promotion of
the good towards the Other, do you think that it is possible to achieve this
individually? More specifically, for yourself if you are undergoing some type
of need for responsiveness. Can you effectively respond to yourself for care or
does this only apply when it is someone else caring? (I hope that makes
sense!?)
I had a similar example when my grandfather was in the hospital. He did not like being in the nursing home because he was lonely and they treated him unethically. I am not sure of the specifics of the treatment but from the sounds of it, the treatment was not good... If you had to guess, how many workers are in the health care industry that treat patients unethically?
ReplyDeleteThe unethical treatment might come from just bad job placement. If you don't like your job, you probably won't do as good a job at it compared to a job that you really enjoy. I don't work in the health care industry but I know that for me personally, if there is a job or homework assignment that I am suppose to do and I am not going to like it, I will not do as good a job relative to a job that I really enjoy.