Healthcare Professionals’ Ethical and Legal Issues

Healthcare professionals are constantly faced with dilemmas in their line of duty. These pertain to hospital management practices, treatment options, as well as to making decisions for patients who are not in a position to express their preferences. Physicians are required to provide competent medical attention, and to be compassionate while doing so. The work itself is exhausting, and these professionals are oftentimes blamed for a host of issues, some of which are far beyond their control; and as a consequence, they end-up being depressed (Kingston, 2020). In such a state, their capacity to render quality services is compromised, and they become a danger to the patients as well as to themselves.

Suicide among healthcare professionals

While it seems logical to be dissatisfied with the kind of services that physicians render to their patients, Marano (2020) argues that being unappreciated has been hurting healthcare professionals in a significant manner. She argues that in several instances, doctors and nurses do not even know how to take care of themselves. They suffer from burn-outs, inadequate family time, as well as from the pain of not attaining the results they desire.

Marano (2020) asserts that while a significant level of frustration has traditionally been associated with medical careers, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic did complicate these problems. The crisis has negatively impacted on the physicians’ work-life balance, and the high death toll has been seriously discouraging. According to Kingston (2020), a notable number of doctors are increasingly questioning the value of their careers, and these feelings have been exacerbated by the inability to find reliable solutions to the pandemic.

COVID-19 pandemic and suicide rates among healthcare professionals

A significant increase in suicide rates is being predicted not just in the general population but also among the physicians as well. For instance, Kingston (2020) asserts that medical professionals are also being hurt by social isolation, increased work hours, and the feeling of lack of control. She, nonetheless, indicate that conclusive data to this effect are not yet available. The information is still being compiled, and there are signs that doctors and nurses are facing serious psychological challenges.

While the actual number of physicians who have been pushed to committing suicide is not yet established, some of these cases have been noticed and documented. In the City of New York, for instance, an emergency physician with over 21 years of experience took her life in April 2020. Dr. Lorna Breen was in the process of recovering from complications related to COVID-19 (Moutier et al., 2021). According to Moutier et al., Dr. Breen is one of the numerous clinicians who have committed suicide since the outbreak of the pandemic. Physicians suffer in silence due to the stigma associated with admitting that one is suffering from mental disorders.

Precautions which may avert similar tragedies in the future

The first step in mitigating burn-outs, depression, and suicide by physicians is investment in research. this would help uncover the areas which stakeholders ought to improve on, and hence make medical careers more fulfilling than they are at the moment. Based on the evidence uncovered through in-depth research, managements of various healthcare facilities should create environments with as few stressors as possible (Ofei-Dodoo, Loo-Gross, & Kellerman, 2021).

Part of the reason medical careers are challenging is due to the complex policies, regulations, standards, and healthcare laws. Worse still, these are imposed by various entities, which means that doctors and nurses waste a lot of time and effort trying to understand what is expected of them (Oquendo, Bernstein, & Mayer, 2019). These laws and policies should either be clarified or modified to ease the hurdles which professionals have to overcome in the course of their work.

In cases where technology solutions may be enabled, the stakeholders should explore these options in order to reduce the workload that professionals have to complete (Wong & Sanchez, 2018). Indeed, technology enables doctors and nurses to work efficiently, and hence help a high number of clients. The level of satisfaction that results may mitigate the chances of becoming depressed. Lastly, adequate support should be availed to clinicians, especially those who are already indicating signs of depression and other mental disorders (Elbay & Karadere, 2020).

Ethics of self-care among healthcare providers

Even before the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, between 300 and 400 doctors committed suicide in the US each year. Over 6 per cent of all physicians indicate that they have ever considered killing themselves (Oquendo et al., 2019). Only a handful of them actually seek help, and the doctors themselves must be proactive in stopping this trend. As soon as the early warning signs are noticed, the individual should seek professional help. Signs include lack of energy, hopelessness, helplessness, feeling numb, as well as having sleeping and eating disorders (Ofei-Dodoo et al., 2021).

In addition to seeking professional assistance, physicians should connect with families and friends as much as possible. They must always remain positive, and have hope that the present challenges will ultimately dissipate. Whenever they have an opportunity, they must sleep adequately, and engage in physical activities (Elbay & Karadere, 2020; Wong & Sanchez, 2018). They may as well attend seminars and conferences where lessons on coping skills are offered.

Conclusion

The emotional and psychological problems being experienced by physicians are affecting how they feel, act, and think. They do also influence the manner in which they relate to others, make choices, and handle stressful situations. In that case, the quality of work that professionals experiencing challenges render is significantly poor. Their morale is also quite low, and several of them are pushed into committing suicide. Fortunately, there are several self-care approaches which would enable physicians to remain health and motivated to do their work. Each one of them should watch-out for the early warning signs, and take necessary precautions to avert possible deterioration of their conditions.

Healthcare Professionals’ Ethical and Legal Issues

1. Introduction

1. A lot of people blame medical professionals for failing them, and this depresses these professionals (Kingston, 2020).
2. Some of the reasons of failure are far beyond their control.

2. Suicide among healthcare professionals

1. Physicians are committing suicide at a much higher rate than it used to be the case (Marano, 2020).
2. This is due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
3. Nonetheless, the problems which physicians face are quite old, but they only worsened since the late 2019 (Kingston, 2020)

3. COVID-19 pandemic and suicide rates among healthcare professionals

1. The actual statistics about suicides by physicians are not yet known.
2. Nevertheless, doctors are dying, and Dr. Lorna Breen is just a single case in point.
3. She was a physician with over 21 years of experience, and she had seen a lot, yet she killed herself upon contracting COVID-19 (Moutier et al., 2021).
4. The biggest problem is that physicians are suffering in silence and without seeking reliable help.

4. Precautions which may avert similar tragedies in the future

1. Stakeholders should invent in research in order to understand the problem precisely.
2. That information should be used to create an environment with fewer stressors (Ofei-Dodoo, Loo-Gross, & Kellerman, 2021).
3. The complicated laws should be reviewed and simplified (Oquendo, Bernstein, & Mayer, 2019).
4. Those with mental health issues should be encouraged to seek professional help and be accorded all the care and support they need (Elbay & Karadere, 2020).

5. Ethics of self-care among healthcare providers

1. Before COVID-19, as many as 400 doctors committed suicide on a yearly basis (Oquendo et al., 2019).
2. Physicians have challenges, yet they rarely seek help.
3. They should watch-out for signs such as hopelessness and helplessness, and seek medical attention as soon as possible (Elbay & Karadere, 2020).
4. They should establish and keep social relations (Wong & Sanchez, 2018).
5. They must eat and sleep adequately, and also exercise as much as possible (Wong & Sanchez, 2018).

6. Conclusion

1. For them to work and deliver effectively, physicians should take care of themselves as well.
2. It is possible to curtain the serious rate of suicides among doctors and nurses, but it calls for pro-activeness on the part of these professionals themselves.