Ladies and gentlemen, the first speaker analyzed the role of autonomy declaring the HIV status of health workers. Failure to declare the status, the health care workers, would breach the autonomy of the patients. Further, the first speaker mentioned that the principle of beneficence requires that all health professionals needs to do good to the patients. Non-maleficence principles give the patients the right not to be harmed. Patients require trusting the caring professionals since their decisions have a great influence on their lives. On top of that, the nursing code of ethics calls for upholding ethics, values on quality, as well as informed decision-making. Every health care worker ought to follow these regulations.
The second speaker gave a detailed analysis of the legal obligation of the healthcare workers. According to the Department of health (Doha) (2012), it is the duty of the all health care workers to protect the health and safety of the patients including the prevention of transmission of blood-borne viruses. The speakers asserted that the American Medical Association guidelines demand that medical practitioners undertaking exposure prone procedures to disclose their status get the patient’s consent or withdraw from them. Such an approach guarantees the patient the autonomy in making important decisions. It is only when the operations do not involve blood or other risky activities that the patients do not need to declare their status. Further, he stated that policies that provide the patient with the right information would reduce fear and anxiety among the patients.
Ladies and gentlemen, ethically, utilitarianism requires that acts be evaluated based on their outcomes (Leslie E. Wolf and Bernard Lo, 2015). Although medical records such as HIV status needs to be kept private, to do so among the health care providers place the patients at risk of infections. Such does not lead to the greater good of the majority, and, therefore, health workers ought to declare their status before performing risky operations, obtain consent or withdrawal entirely withdraw from them. Health workers have the legal and moral obligation to protect patient’s health and safety at all times (Department of health, 2012).
References
Wolf L. E. and Lo B., (2015). Ethical Dimensions of HIV/AIDS. Retrieved on May 18, 2015 from http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/InSite?page=kb-08-01-05
