Assignment: Ethics in Healthcare Practice

Assignment: Ethics in Healthcare Practice Essay

Several issues affect the standards of practice related to competency of medical care are identified in the article by Lyckholm, Hackney and Smith (2001). One of them entails the challenge of providing quality, accessible, and affordable care for all. The challenge arises from factors that include the dispersed population in the rural settings and the lack of single payer system in the state. The lack of a single payer system promotes the exclusion of the rural populations on issues related to healthcare such as equity in the distribution of resources. Further, there is also low reimbursement from Medicaid and Medicare insurance, which affects adversely the quality of care offered to those in need due to low healthcare coverage.

The other issue affecting the standards of practice related to competency of medical care as identified by Lyckholm et al., (2001) is upholding the principle of justice. Healthcare providers should ensure that there is equitable distribution of healthcare resources. The resources should be distributed based on one’s healthcare need instead of their ability to afford it. However, upholding this principle is a challenge in rural settings. Aspects such as financial and geographical barriers contribute to unequal distribution of resources in

Assignment Ethics in Healthcare Practice Essay
Assignment Ethics in Healthcare Practice Essay

these settings. The unequal distribution of resources can be seen in the high number of patients that seek healthcare from few health care providers in the rural areas. Poor funding is also another challenge that hinders justice in the provision of healthcare in the rural settings. The low reimbursement of funds imply that most of the healthcare institutions are under-resourced, affecting the quality of care given to the residents. Issues related to infrastructure further pose a challenge to the competency of medical care in rural settings (Porter-O’Grady, Weberg, Mangold, & Malloch, 2019). The sick and the elderly are often forced to travel for distances to access the healthcare they need. The consequence of these challenges is that rural populations receive low-quality care that does not match their needs, hence, affecting the competency of medical care.

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The other issue is the competency of medical care offered in rural facilities. As shown by Lyckholm et al., (2001), there exists a challenge in providing specialized care in the rural settings. The challenge arises from the lack of specialized providers who manage conditions that are beyond the scope of primary care providers. The acute shortage of specialists often force the physicians and advanced practice nurses to offer care that is beyond their scope of practice and level of expertise. They also provide the extended care under no supervision, thereby, threatening the quality and safety of care offered to individuals in need in the rural areas.

Standards of Practice Relevance

The standards of practice explored by Lyckholm et al., (2001) in their article will have a significant impact on my future role as a nurse administrator. It implies that I have to play a proactive role in ensuring that the principles of equity and equality are considered in the institutions I will be working with in the future. I will have to explore cost-effective interventions that will ensure that the existing limited resources are used efficiently to optimize the health outcomes of the populations I serve (Holloway, 2019). The standards also imply that I will have to play a proactive role in examining barriers to healthcare in the rural settings and ways of addressing them. The success of the process will entail working in collaboration with stakeholders such as communities, religious institutions, non-governmental and governmental institutions in addressing the issues (Kreitzer & Koithan, 2019). Most importantly, these standards translate into the need for me to be not only a nurse administrator but also a researcher in exploring the ways in which health inequalities can be addressed.