[ANSWER]RANZCP Essay- Ethical Dilemmas in Psychiatry: A Case Study

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Ethical Dilemmas in Psychiatry

Ethical Dilemmas in Psychiatry

VAD, also referred to as physician-assisted suicide, denotes the assistance offered to a patient by a qualified healthcare practitioner to facilitate the patient’s death through a lethal drug if the patient has voluntarily and in their right state of mind elected to die (Goligher et al., 2017). In the Australian context, this practice remains legally and ethically controversial. Save for Victoria, the practice is illegal in all states and territories in the country (McDougall and Pratt, 2020).

The legal and ethical controversies surrounding VAD stem from various uncertainties and complexities, including who is eligible to request for VAD, the conditions that should be met before a VAD request is granted, implications for patients and the society at large, as well as the consistency of the practice with universally accepted medical ethics (Kirchhoffer and Lui, 2019; Onwuteaka-Philipsen, Willmott and White, 2019). Against this backdrop, Mr X’s case presented a major ethical dilemma for the care team. Ethical Dilemmas in Psychiatry

Various ethical frameworks can provide guidance on dealing with the dilemma. One such framework is the 4-principles framework of healthcare ethics. This framework stipulates four ethical principles that every healthcare professional should abide by:  autonomy, justice, beneficence, and nonmaleficence (Levitt, 2014; Er and Ersoy, 2017). The principle of autonomy requires Ethical Dilemmas in Psychiatry that healthcare professionals uphold patient agency and self-determination and to treat patients with respect and dignity at all times. To put it simply, every patient has the freedom to make choices regarding their own care. The principle of justice calls for exercise of fairness and impartiality when interacting with patients or making…[Buy Full Answer for Just USD 9: 2572 WORDS]

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Word Count: 2572

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