The role of the Hospital Ethics Committee in educating members of the medical staff

HEC Forum ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 151-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flora M. Barlotta ◽  
Linda S. Scheirton

Author(s):  
Patrycja Zurzycka ◽  
Grażyna Puto ◽  
Katarzyna Czyżowicz ◽  
Iwona Repka

AbstractThe role of Hospital Ethics Committees (HECs) is to support patients and their relatives as well as medical staff in solving ethical issues that arise in relation to the implementation of medical care. In Poland there are no clearly formulated legal regulations concerning the establishment and functioning of hospital ethics committees. Hospitals applying for accreditation are obliged to present solutions defining the way of solving ethical issues in a given institution, some of them appoint HECs for this purpose. The aim of this study was to analyze information concerning the functioning of hospital ethics committees in Poland on the basis of publicly available data published on the websites of accredited hospitals. Very few accredited hospitals (56) make public information about functioning in their ethics consulting facilities through hospital ethics committees. In most cases, the information provided on the functioning of HECs is general, both in terms of the committees’ functioning, type of cases under consideration and the composition of personnel.



2021 ◽  
pp. medethics-2020-107096
Author(s):  
Waldemar Głusiec

Background and aimsFew Polish hospitals have Hospital Ethics Committee (HECs) and the services are not always adequate. In this situation, the role of HECs, in providing, among others, ethical advice on the discontinuation of persistent therapies, may be taken over by other entities. The aim of our research was to investigate, how often and on what issues hospital chaplains are asked for ethical advice in reaching difficult medical decisions.MethodsA survey of 100 Roman Catholic chaplains was conducted, that is, at least 10% of all chaplains currently working in Polish hospitals.ResultsOf the participants, 29% confirmed receiving requests for advice in making a morally difficult medical decision. Receiving this type of request was not conditional on the place of their service, duration of their pastoral mission or HEC membership. The largest group of chaplains (21%) encounter questions concerning the ethical dilemmas associated with discontinuing persistent therapy. Patients and their families most often raise issues related to the methods of birth control, and the medical staff raise the issue of termination of pregnancy—as reported by 9% and 15% of chaplains, respectively. Most of the chaplains asked for help (79%) experience a deficit of specialist knowledge in the area of medicine or ethics.ConclusionsIn order to improve the quality of ethical consultations in Polish hospitals, in addition to further development of HECs, it is postulated to develop a system for bioethical education of chaplains.



HEC Forum ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita J. Tarzian ◽  
Diane E. Hoffmann ◽  
Rose Mary Volbrecht ◽  
Judy L. Meyers


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle L Weber Rawlins ◽  
Brian R Johnson ◽  
Emily R Jones ◽  
Johna K Register-Mihalik ◽  
Craig Foster ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Introduction United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) cadets are at risk for sustaining concussions; however, several factors inhibit disclosure. We aimed to better understand the role of social support in concussion disclosure. Methods and Materials We used a mixed methods approach with an electronic survey and interviews. The survey used a 9-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree and 9 = strongly agree) to assess concussion disclosure. Survey items asked cadets whom they felt most comfortable disclosing a concussion or bell-ringer/ding to, how quickly they would seek medical attention for a suspected concussion or bell-ringer/ding, whether cadets would be generally supportive/unsupportive of another cadet disclosing a concussion to medical staff, and whether other cadets important to them would be generally supportive/unsupportive if they reported a concussion to medical staff. Two multivariate linear regressions, one for concussion and one for bell-ringers/dings, were calculated to determine whether cadet choice of the person they felt most comfortable disclosing a concussion or bell-ringer/ding to predicted whether they would immediately seek medical attention for either condition. Choice of person included Air Officer Commanding (AOC)/Academy Military Trainer (AMT), upper classmen, cadet who had recovered from a concussion, cadet, closest friend, teammate, and squadmate. Descriptive analyses assessed whether cadets felt supported or unsupported by other cadets and by those who were important to them concerning concussion reporting. Thirty-four semi-structured interviews were conducted with cadets to explore their views on concussion disclosure. Results Increased comfort with disclosing a suspected concussion to an AOC/AMT had higher agreement seeking medical attention (β = 0.28, P < .001). For every 1-point increase in being comfortable disclosing a potential bell-ringer/ding to an AOC/AMT (β = 0.272, P < .001), squadmate (β = 0.241, P = .002), and teammate (β = −0.182, P = .035), agreement for seeking medical attention immediately increased 0.27, increased 0.24, and decreased 0.18, respectively. Interviews indicated cadets would often speak to a peer before seeking medical attention. Conclusions Our results suggested that cadets felt comfortable reporting a suspected concussion or bell-ringer/ding to various peers and that those peers would be supportive of that choice, indicating social support. Future interventions should include educating cadets that peers may come to them, especially if they are AOCs/AMTs or squadmates.



2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian M. Cummings ◽  
John J. Paris

A recent case of conjoined twins required multiple hospitalizations in the pediatric intensive care unit and led to a difficult situation confronting staff regarding the potential separation where surgery would result in the death of one twin. The hospital ethics committee was consulted. A systematic approach was utilized to examine medical standards, historical precedents, and various ethical and legal frameworks. The ethics committee believed that either proceeding with or forgoing attempted separation surgery would be ethically acceptable. We share our reasoning and lessons learned for others facing this situation in the future.





2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 1771-1779
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Paszkowska

Nurses are the largest group of Polish medical staff. There are currently approximately 230,000 nurses employed in Poland. There is a statutory profession for many years. Nurses provide health services on the basis of a medical order or on their own. As a result of changes in the law, the scope of their professional competences has been increasing for several years, including to independently administer medicines and issue prescriptions. The purpose of the article is to present and analyze legal norms determining the status of a nurse in the Polish health care system. In addition, the definition of the statutory principles of cooperation between doctors and nurses. The analysis shows that changes in law in recent years have significantly influenced the increase in the role of nurses in the health care system and they are also relevant to the practice of the medical profession.



1996 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 749-754
Author(s):  
Hidewaki Nakagawa ◽  
Tadashi Yasuda ◽  
Takashi Ukai


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document