Ethics Case studies - Essay Example

Lecturer: Presentation: Case An ethical problem has been generated by this situation since John has no capa for the jobhe is seeking and strongly recommending him for it will be against professional ethics. John has the conviction that with all the hard work and commitment he has demonstrated while working in the lab, he will surely get a strong recommendation from me. Who are the stakeholders? This situation has many stakeholders, me included. I would not like to act against professional ethics.

The potential employer depends on me to offer the right information regarding John to ensure that the right candidate gets the job. John has rested his hope in my positive recommendation to get the opportunity which he regards as a lifetime opportunity. Patients are the major stakeholders in this case because their life will be at risk in case the wrong person is offered the job. Indeed, the only practical alternative is to be honest with the reference lab regarding John’s capabilities. Lying for him would be unethical and short-lived because even if he is hired, it will not take long before the new employer discovers his incompetence.

This would result in him being fired and it would be embarrassing for him to come back to seek his old job once again. This would jeopardize the Center’s reputation and my credibility as a reference person. Professional code of ethics states that the best interests of the patient should come first before individual and organizational interests. The interest of colleagues should be given second priority when the patient’s well-being is at risk. The profession should also be safeguarded through ethical practices.

I would clearly explain to John the competencies required in the new job and make him understand that in my honest opinion, he is not qualified for the job. I would also explain to him the undesirable consequences that may result from my strong recommendation for him including putting his current job and the potential job at risk as well as jeopardizing the reputation of the lab. Case 2As the lab supervisor, you receive a report from one of the evening shift technologists that another one of the evening techs is doing the “sink test” (i.e. dumping samples down the sink and making up the results) in urinalysis in order to get to dinner earlier.

What action would you take? The ethical problem in this case is dishonesty in one of the laboratory technologist who is putting the patients’ health at risk. The wrong results may cause irreversible damage to the patient. These actions may damage the reputation of the laboratory. The stakeholders in this case include me as the lab supervisor, the dishonest lab technician, and the doctors who are expected to interpret the results as well as the patient who will be affected by the outcome of the lab tests.

A practical alternative is to discontinue the dishonest lab technicians from working in the lab because they are endangering the lives of patients. They need to be fired because they are not performing any meaningful work. The professional Code of Ethics is against lying and acting in a way that causes harm to the patient. The technicians are supposed to work to the best interest of the patients, colleagues and the organization. I would conduct an investigation to ascertain if the allegations are true after which I would proceed to fire the technicians.

I would also report the matter to the management so that chances of dishonesty in future can be avoided.