Solutions
Define scientific method and bias Correct Answers 1)
Scientific method: systematic way of thinking, research based,
based on previous work of other experts in the area
2) Bias: systematic distortion of a finding from data, often
resulting from a problem with the sample
Describe deontology and distinguish between act deontologists
and rule deontologists Correct Answers An act is moral if its
motives or intentions are good, regardless of the outcome (e.g.
Kant)
- Act deontologists: determine the right thing to do by gathering
all the facts and then making a decision
- Rule deontologists: emphasize that principles guide our
actions
Describe Gilligan's theory of moral development. What are the
stages? What describes a moral person, and moral dilemmas?
What helps people transition up the levels? Correct Answers
Three levels of moral development
1) Orientation to individual survival
2) A focus on goodness with recognition of self-sacrifice
3) The morality of caring and being responsible for others, as
well as self
"The moral person is one who responds to needs and
demonstrates a consideration of care and responsibility in
relationships."
Moral dilemmas are due to conflicting responsibilities
,Each transition resulted in a critical reevaluation of the conflict
between selfishness and responsibility.
Describe Kohlberg's theory of moral development. What are the
stages? What helps people move from one level to the next?
Correct Answers Three stages:
1) Preconventional (self-centered, not paying attention to the
rules/norms of society)
2) conventional (moral decisions conform to
family/group/society, most adolescents and adults)
3) postconventional (independent modes of thinking, people
ignore their own interests and only look at group norm, only
minority of adults get here)
A person's movement up to a higher level can be stimulated by
1) Intellectual levels
2) Environment with opportunities for group participation,
shared decision-making, and responsibility for consequences of
actions
3) Conflict
Describe principalism. What are its limitations? Correct
Answers Uses key ethical principles of beneficence,
nonmalfeicence, autonomy, and justice in resolution of ethical
conflicts or dilemmas
Limitation: no guidance on which principle is more important
than any other
Describe the change in the economics of nursing. Correct
Answers Nursing services were first seen as a "room rate" (a
line item on the invoice for charges for a hospital room).
,Later, hospitals came up with a Patient Classification System
(quantitative identification of the patient needs) to help
determine the need for nurses. For example, a charge nurse in a
hospital might assess the acuity of each patient to determine how
many nurses are needed for the oncoming shift.
Describe the concept of "locus of control." How does it relate to
healthcare behaviors? Correct Answers - Internal locus of
control: belief that your health is internally controlled by what
you do. People with an internal locus of control are more likely
to change their healthcare behaviors.
- External locus of control: belief that your health is controlled
by outside factors or chance. People with an external locus of
control are less likely to change their health behaviors.
Describe the concept of a hospital as a system with subsystems
Correct Answers The subsystems (all the working parts of the
hospital, e.g. nurses, doctors, pharmacy, cafeteria) make up the
overall hospital system, and the whole is greater than the sum of
its parts.
Synergy is only going to occur when all the subsystems work
well together, and they create a result that they couldn't create
on their own.
Describe the five methods of payment for healthcare Correct
Answers 1) Private insurance: insurance premiums paid
between individual and employer
2) Medicare/Title VIII of Social Security Act: available to all
65+, with kidney failure, and with disabilities. Includes
premiums.
, 3) Medicaid/Title XIX of Social Security Act: available to low
income elderly, blind, or disabled people. No regular fees.
4) Personal (out-of-pocket) payment: not a reality for most
people
5) Worker's compensation: covers treatment for injuries
sustained at work, and weekly payment for missed wages
Describe the major change in the overall history of healthcare
finance. Correct Answers 90% of patients used to pay out-of-
pocket or rely on charity for healthcare. After WWII, most
industrialized nations began a publicly financed health care
system (though the US continued a private system).
This improved health coverage, access and quality, but also
created unforeseen loopholes.
Describe utilitarianism. What are it's downsides? Correct
Answers Utilitarianism: moral rightness of an action is
determined solely by its consequence. Useful actions bring
about the greatest good for the greatest number of people (e.g.
David Hume, Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill)
Downsides: impossible to predict all consequences, the needs of
the minority will not be met
Describe virtue ethics. What are its limitations? Correct
Answers Emphasizes the character of the decision maker.
Individuals' actions are built from a degree of inborn moral
virtue.
Virtues are tendencies to act, feel, and judge that develop
through appropriate training but come from natural tendencies.