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Work Place Ethics

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Submitted By revans
Words 1019
Pages 5
University of Phoenix
Ronda Evans
GEN 480
Professor Laura Paul
October 30, 2012

The health care industry is an enormous organization that is often the target of multiple lawsuits for many reasons. I have worked in the health care industry for over seventeen years now as a Licensed Practical Nurse, and it never ceases to amaze me at the level of which professional ethics and ones personal moral, values and ethics have such a conflict. The tone for professional ethics is set by the procedures and policies of the company, and must be adhered to by all employees in order for the company to function and be prosperous in most cases.
For many years I worked for a federally qualified health care center, which means it is funded by grants and federal monies. Under the umbrella of FQHCC the center must except the uninsured, as well as the under insured to meet the qualifications of that the state has set fourth for the center, therefore this means that the center will service a certain type of demographical area, and the centers are usually located in rural area through out the metro area.
By servicing rural areas the company deals with many individuals who were, drug addicts, or individuals who make a living by selling prescribe narcotics to people on the streets that was given to them by their doctors. This particular center became known for prescribing narcotics to individuals who did not meet the criteria for narcotics and to individuals who abused the system as well as the narcotic policy that the state had put in place in order to avoid this.
The doctors found themselves prescribing narcotics to individuals who they suspect was abusing them or selling them, or to individuals who did not have a medical need for it however the dilemma was, if they stop prescribing these types of medications, the patients would go somewhere else and get them, and in order to stay in business the FQHCC has to see a certain number of patients in a quarterly year in order to be funded. Being that I was the nurse in the clinic all refills went through the physicians and then through me to call in the medication refills.
There was a patient by the name of Jane Doe who would call every month without fail to say that her narcotics were stolen, or her cat ate them, or she drop them down the sink. I never felt comfortable with refilling narcotics however that was a part of my job description. Jane called one afternoon and said that her neighbor had stolen her Vicodin and she needed a new prescription called in. I followed protocol and took the information down, pulled her chart, pulled her Maps which tracks all of the narcotics that you have ever had filled in your life and with confidence that she was going to be denied this refill place the chart and information on the doctors desk.
When I came in the next morning the chart was on my desk with an approval to call in a new prescription with six refills. Jane’s Maps showed that she had gone to three different doctors within the month and gotten Norco, Vicodin and Dilaudid from these doctors. The first doctor should have caught it however I wasn’t worried because I had caught it and was confident that this patient would be denied a refill.
I went to my doctor and I said Dr. Doolittle I believe that this patient is abusing these narcotics and his response was call it in any way. I went on to explain my case, well after I had finish he got up close the door and told me to have a seat. He then went on to explain how these individuals pays not only his salaries but mine as well and that she was not hurting anyone but herself, and that I shouldn’t have a problem with this because we all get a big kick back on our yearly bonuses.
This doctor was more forceful with his tone and demeanor than I can express, however I went back to my desk and for the entire day I played the different consequences in my head. My dilemma was if I called in this prescription I was now part of the problem. This patient could potentially over dose or sell the drugs to someone else who could potentially do the same. I also knew that by not calling in the prescription I would be considered to be insubordination, I would be deifying a direct order from my bosses boss, and I could lose my job if I don’t call this in however, if the state found out that the office was not following protocol when calling in narcotics I could lose my license.
After going over the consequences in my head, at the end of the day I called in the prescription however I only gave the patient one refill opposed to six refills. After I went home and shared this experience with my husband that same night I applied to several jobs and within two months I had moved on to my current position, which I love. The doctor who ordered me to call in the prescription was later charged for fraudulent billing in the office and went on to later beat those charges.
I’d had enough of putting my license and integrity on the line and the more I worked there, the more I felt like less of a person. What I learned from this experience is that money is power and the more money you have the more power one has. I was over ruled and over powered by my superior and my opinion, my integrity and my feelings did not matter as long as the numbers were right and the money was coming in no one would listen. I had to make a change for me, so that I would feel good about my self and my work. I had three options at that time either call in the prescription quit or be fired.

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