Ethics and Moral Reasoning among Medical Laboratory ProfessionalsUniversal-Publishers, Jan 6, 2008 Physicians and patients have received inaccurate medical laboratory test results that have put patients at risk. The purpose of this study is to determine the moral reasoning level of medical laboratory professionals. The theoretical framework that guided this study is grounded by the theories of cognitive development. The study used a population survey and Defining Issues Test, version 2 (DIT-2) questionnaires to collect data. Forty-seven participants from a medical laboratory were surveyed, and hypotheses were tested between moral reasoning scores (dependent variable) and age, gender, level of education, years of experience and job type (independent variables). Data were subjected to ANOVA and the results showed that laboratory professionals moral reasoning (N2=26.57, P=30.46) was lower than that of other health care professionals. Training in ethics and moral reasoning are some of the recommendations made. Moral reasoning forms the basis for ethical behavior and good decision making; this is limited in people with poor moral reasoning score, which could result in incorrect laboratory results being reported to patients and physicians. Decisions made by medical laboratory professionals affect patients treatment and care. |
Contents
| 1 | |
LITERATURE | 22 |
RESEARCH METHOD | 70 |
RESULTS | 81 |
Table 10 | 90 |
Table 15 | 98 |
Table 18 | 104 |
SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS | 108 |
REFERENCES | 117 |
APPENDIX A Approval | 123 |
APPENDIX G DIT2 Instructions | 129 |
Common terms and phrases
analysis ANOVA Beauchamp & Childress Bebeau Berch Callahan casuistry clinical cognitive development confidentiality Defining Issues Test educational level ethical behavior ethical decisions Ethical Development ethics of care experience and job females gender Gilligan health care professionals independent variables indicate that sample job type Kohlberg Kukoyi laboratory medicine level of education level of moral maintaining norms Maryland General Hospital measure moral reasoning medical ethics medical laboratory professionals medical technologists moral development moral dilemmas moral judgment moral reasoning scores N2 score neo-Kohlbergian ideology non-maleficence Null hypothesis Numbers participants pathologist phlebotomists physicians Piaget principles of medical professionals at Southern provide enough statistical reasoning of medical Regional Health System relationship between moral Rest & Narvaez sample means significant statistical difference significant statistical relationship Snarey social Southern Regional Health stages of moral statistical evidence Study of Ethical Table transfusion version 2 DIT-2 virtue ethics Walden University