Health Care Ethics: Critical Issues for the 21st Century

Lets get back to what I love healthcare. This book was outstanding. The 21st century presents many new issues in health care ethics that did not exist previously. Most of these ethical issues have to do with advancements in medical technology and in bringing health care on a higher level to the developing world. In addressing these issues, we must take such things into consideration as overall human societal values as well as the values of individual cultures and the personal values of individual people. As recent events in the news have shown, we still have a long way to go in becoming a society where health care ethics are used in the correct way in every situation. Yet, each time we fail in providing ethical health care to anyone, we learn from the incident, and can take steps to make sure we do better in the future. We are constantly learning in this new and vastly untried health care environment. Here are some of the most critical issues in health care ethics we as a society face in this new century. The health care industry and health care workers must take careful measures to ensure individuals are always being treated ethically when it comes to health care practices. The recent Ebola crisis in West Africa was a strong example of a lesson in this. Read this book...Outstanding work Eileen Morrison, we should talk sometime :)Beginning in March 2014, Ebola hit three West African countries (Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia) very strongly. While thousands of people were killed in the epidemic, hundreds of health care workers were among them. These workers were thrown into environments that were unsanitary and unprotected and expected to treat Ebola patients at high risk to themselves. Their exposure also put their families and neighbors at risk. Further, many of these workers did not have the proper training in treating Ebola necessary to do their jobs to the highest standards, and they lacked the support they needed to get this training.As a result, not only were health care workers compromised in their health and safety, but their associates and their patients were put at risk, too. Further, their patients did not get the high level of health care they deserved. With proper training and the right types of environments available for treating Ebola patients, many of the deaths of health care workers and the Ebola patients they treated could have been prevented.While international relief organizations did eventually make their way into these countries to lend a hand and offer training and equipment to West African health care workers, much damage had already been done by the time they arrived. The countries suffering from Ebola and the people within those countries did not get the attention and investments from international organizations, charities, and governments they needed to treat the disease effectively and in a timely manner.There was also a high level of distrust among the African people toward health care workers, with many of them believing those in the health field were responsible for bringing Ebola to their communities in the first place. Health care workers faced an uphill battle in getting their countrymen and women to comply with sanitation and hygiene instructions. Governments in these nations had to impose quarantines as a result (1).Families with loved ones with Ebola would often take their relatives to indigenous healers, who lacked the knowledge or equipment necessary to treat the disease. They also removed loved ones from hospitals while they were still sick, and ignored quarantine orders. When law enforcement personnel tried to make people comply with orders, they were met with violence. Much of this was due to a lack of education about Ebola on the part of the governments of the world. The fact that the Ebola crisis went on as long as it did, and is still ongoing to a certain degree, is a failing on the part of the governments of the world. It shows a distinct lack of caring, especially considering worldwide travel could have made Ebola a worldwide problem (and almost did).Ethical treatment of health care workers through giving them training and support to deal with Ebola, and ethical treatment of individuals through gentle educational initiatives they could understand (possibly partnered with the trusted local indigenous healers), could have made all the difference in Africa. Compassion toward individuals, especially those in developing nations, is just one of the ethical issues the health care industry is facing in the 21st century.

This book was required reading for me but I enjoyed reading almost every single chapter. As a healthcare worker, it truly challenged the way I think and placed ethical issues in a perspective that allowed me to think for myself about all of them. There is a slight focus on the PPACA which I guess should be expected since that is one of the lastest issues our country is challenged with. The text covered many issues that we have been faced with throughout the last two to three decades in healthcare and I liked the fact that it discussed newer and more interesting issues first to keep you engaged.I appreciated that it is kind of like an anthology in that most every chapter is a different author making each chapter feeling fresh. If you work in healthcare and serve patients, whether you are going to school or not, I recommend this book. It is certainly enlightening, educating, and challenging!

I had no idea that I could rent books for school from Amazon! This was perfect as my classes are completely online and the textbook was an e-book which was straining my eyes. I am so happy that I was able to rent this book! I would absolutely rent again in the future.

I've taught from two different editions of this text and I think it is very solid. I actually reviewed the book one year, but to no avail. I think the book could be improved with information about the ethics of deep brain stimulation, treatment vs. enhancement, neuroethics in general, and health disparities related to those topic. Other than that the book is a great book for our purposes and I supplement.

The book was just as described. It showed wear but nothing that kept me from using it and I saved a lot of money over purchasing it new or from other sources.

The bound separated and ink underlining I didn’t like and don’t want to be charged for it. The book was hard to utilize for test taking. The book was promptly sent from Amazon though. Instructor needs to find another book.

I like the easy reading.

Text book arrived on time, all is as expected, satisfied.