How Does the Healthcare Professional Determine the Breadth and Depth of Healthcare to Provide to Patients?: The Personal…

This thought paper is the personal exploration of the author in seeking to determine the answer to the question of care to be provided to patients as a future healthcare professional. Utilizing various books written by authorities in bioethics as well as job shadowing experience for perspective, the author distilled down what they believed to be some basic guidelines and considerations to be taken into account when providing patient care. In summary, what aspects of the patient's health the healthcare professional can provide care for is determined by boundaries and conditions the healthcare professional must work within. Within those considerations, the healthcare professional can determine the minimum of care from the legally enforceable expectations of their employer, patients, and profession. When seeking to determine whether to provide beyond the minimum of care to patients, the healthcare professional may use the expectations of their profession and expectations from their religious beliefs (or lack of) for answers. Then, using experience and reflection to determine a supportable balance between private and professional responsibilities, the healthcare professional should then seek to come closer and closer to these expectations throughout their practice when providing care to patients.