Social Responsibility of Physicians Regarding Health Care Essay

Social Responsibility of Physicians Regarding Health Care I. Introduction The responsibility of physicians in the United States continues to increase as the country grows and becomes more diverse. Because social structures and religous concepts are so much a part of medicine, physicians must be aware of the responsibilities of social justice and cultural sensitivity. One of the ways that physicians must meet the demands of the increasingly diverse community is to become aware of the need for cultural sensitivity in the treatment of patients. But why is cultural sensitivity important? Cultural sensitivity is important because in order for physicians to respect the autonomy of the patient and to practice not only non-maleficence but beneficence, the physicians must exert energy into becoming culturally aware. II. Cultural Sensitivity in a Health Care Environment a) Mission and Autonomy of Patients Physicians play a crucial role in the service sector of the community, and in light of the Christian physician, the role of server also implies connotations of mission. It is important to state what mission is not, in this context, in order to eleviate any misconceptions. "Mission is not pushing your point down someone's throat. It is not being disrespectful or erasing the culture of the people that you are sent to serve" (Shelly, 3). If the autonomy of the patient is not protected, the trust between physician and patient is affected. So, the question arises: whose responsibility is it to promote cultural awareness? Is it the responsibility of the physician to research and understand the different cultures that are most dominant in the area? Is it the responsibility of the patient to explicitly state their cultural/re... ...social justice and cultural sensitivity) in the context of health care, cost - effective analysis is a large component. It is important for physicians to view cost - effective analysis through the eyes of social responsibility if the voices of people from other cultures and the poor are to be heard. Works Cited Gold, Marthe et al. "Assesing the Health of the Nation." Medical Care. 34 (1996):152. Lambrew, Jeanne M. et al. "The Effects of Having a Regular Doctor on Access to Primary Care." Medical Care 34 (1996): 152. Russell, Louise et al. "The Role of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Health and Medicine." Journal of the American Medical Association 276 (1996): 1172-1176. Shelly, Judith Allen. "Mission Impossible." Journal of Christian Nursing 13 (1996):1176. Shenk-Schrock, Carolyn. "Thoughts from a VORP Guru." Conciliation Quarterly 15 (1996): 4-5.