Was Adam’s action justified?
Based on the information provided, it is difficult to determine if Adam’s actions were justified and ethical. Ethics empower us with the obligation of what we “should” or “ought to” do (Fremgen, 2012). There are several key pieces of information needed to make this determination such as the nursing home policies related to the dining room. There may have been a policy in place where everyone has to eat together and remain there until everyone is finished eating. Even if this was the case, locking the dining room doors is extreme and could have been handled differently. Adam could have asked for assistance with Bill who expressed wanting to go back to his room. If there was not a rule in place that required all residents to remain in the dining room he could have simply let Bill leave and return to his room while keeping an eye on all those who remained ensuring their safety. As for the justification of looking the door, Adam should not have done this.
In your opinion, was this a case of false imprisonment?
Regardless if it was nursing home policy to keep everyone together in the dining room while eating, the fact that he locked the door is in fact false imprisonment. To my knowledge, unless it is conducted my law enforcement in the proper location for appropriate reasons no one is authorized to imprison others. Preventing Bill from leaving the dining room is a violation of rights-based ethics.
What could Adam have done to defuse the situation? Although Bill did not like his food and wanted to go back to his room, Adam could have checked with the kitchen to see if they had other food that may have appealed to Bill. If this did not work Adam could have tried to have a conversation with Bill to distract him from leaving the area while still monitoring the other residents. As a last resort he could have notified his supervisor Nora for