Paper Topic:

Code of Ethics

A strong code of ethics is crucial to the success of any medical profession . There are few situations as significant as a health crisis where people need to have piece of mind that the professional providing them medical care is ethical . This becomes even more crucial to the elderly and those requiring hospice care , as they are often unable to ensure that standards of decency are being practiced and maintained by those providing care . To this end , the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO ) is one of many end-of-life organizations to

provide a Code of Ethics to ensure that their palliative care workers follow the same stringent ethical standards

The delicacy of the hospice and palliative care worker 's job makes their adherence to ethical standards more important than almost any other health care profession , if only because their patients are often fully aware of their imminent death . Because of this , their job is merely to alleviate every ounce of discomfort and fear the patient may have , requiring a great deal of compassion and attentiveness . The nonprofit NHPCO was created to represent hospice and palliative care programs and professionals in the United States , with expressed goal of improving end-of-life care and the quality of life for their patients As the NHPCO explains in their Code of Ethics , hospice and palliative care workers must ensure that the services they provide are delivered with sensitivity to the fact that , as hospice and palliative professionals , [they] have entered into people 's lives and affairs during a period of heightened need and potential vulnerability (National Hospice and Palliative Care Ethics Committee , 2008 . Though the NHPCO is only one of many organizations in the country dedicated to the same basic aims concerning hospice and palliative care , it is the largest of all the organizations and provides a clear and significant amount of information concerning its ethical standards and goals

By offering a Code of Ethics concerning hospice and palliative care the NHPCO is hoping to foster ethical behavior at every level of its organization and those in it , as well as influence others in the industry to follow suit . By initially stating its foundation lies in the fundamental principles of health care ethics , which the NHPCO lists as Autonomy , Beneficence , Conscientious Objection , Nonmaleficence , and Justice . Adding to these principles , their Code of Ethics creates a guideline that includes four basic goals : to meet the hospice and palliative care needs of patients and their families to act honestly truthfully and fairly to all concerned to instruct both local and national communities in the tenets of hospice and palliative care philosophy to continuously strive for the highest level of skill and expertise of the staff and

volunteers in the delivery of care (2008 . Each of these goals is expanded with a handful of points that illustrate how these goals will be reached through the implementation of sub-goals . For example , to meet the care needs of patients and their families , hospice and palliative care specialists are required...

5 pages

32.5 KB

Free sing-up