Medical Jurisprudence

Medical Jurisprudence

Besides a happy policy as to civil government, it is necessary to institute a system of law and jurisprudence founded in justice, equity, and public right. Besides a happy policy as to civil government, it is necessary to institute a system of law and jurisprudence founded in justice, equity, and public right. (Quote by Ezra Stiles)

When thinking of what to write a term paper on, I had originally picked one subject that felt close to home with me. Banking. As the semester continued though things in my life started to unfold in which situations and circumstance were brought to my attention that seemed more important. About two weeks ago my grandmother fell in her assisted living facility breaking her shoulder and her leg. To someone my age this is not that big of a deal, but when you are 90 years old that is a different story. I began to wonder, how did she really manage to fall? Other questions began to pop in my head such as :

* Why was she sent to the hospital by herself with no on from the assisted living riding along with her in the ambulance?

* Why could they not 5 minutes for my mother to get there who works right around the corner?

* Why has no one returned any of the phone calls to my mother who simply wants to know what happened?

Although, they seem to petty questions, wait until it happens to you.

I began to give the matter a great deal of thought, and as she went into the hospital it really started to bother me. Where are people when we need them to be there to support us. Where is the support for people who sometimes can not mentally of physically care for themselves? I began to really wonder about the other people in society who are constantly in need of care. Children, mentally challenged, and elderly are just a few to start with.

As I began research on the topics, I found many articles in which people were not getting the support that they needed, whether from parents, caregivers, or fellow professionals. In this paper I am going to explore different situations that I found and how they relate to medical jurisprudence. They will range from the care from the elderly to a doctor with Aids not receiving support from his fellow coworkers.

To begin with, what is ethics? According to our text, jurisprudence is the study of legal ethics. These ethics include the ethics of power, justice, custom, norms of conduct, civilization, reality, and utility () Lets take it a bit further. What exactly is medical jurisprudence? In my opinion you could define medical jurisprudence as the study of legal ethics in how it pertains to persons receiving, performing, or interpreting anything related to the medical field. This would entail all leagues of medicine including mental, physical, and emotionally health.

At some point in our lifetime we will have to care for someone. Many times it will not be a family member or friend. It may be a stranger. Let's look at my grandmother. Say that my mother could not have been there for her and she was just delivered to the hospital. What is a 90 years woman suppose to do? I found a great article in NURSING2004, where it explains how come nurses are leading the way in helping others.

The article "CRACKING THE CASE: Your role in FORENSIC NURSING," outlines they way in which nurses should think as a patient comes into your emergency room or doctors office. The point that forensic means establishing the facts in any legal case, was one of they key points in the beginning of the article. () The article focuses on what nurses should do as they examine someone in order to present testimony either for or against them. These cases include domestic violence to sexual assault. As I read through this article, I feel that all nurses should pay special attention to what is listed, because they may not know it, but they could be the only person who could ever help someone out in an abusive situation.

The article goes through and lists specific things that the nurses should look for. I feel that it is important to take at look at these steps, not just for a nurse but for any concerned citizen. Like I said, even outside of doctor's offices, it is our responsibility to look out for fellow human beings, and see if they are in need.

1) Be Suspicious-don't be nosy, but pay attention to what people are saying and doing around you

2) Document your Findings- keep clear documentation and a visual record

3) If need be gathers physical evidence

4) Preserve the Evidence]

5) Protect the chain of custody

6) If need be testify in court or report it to the proper authorities ()

If we just simply look over these situations we are guilty in my book of negligence.

Does this mean that this is strictly used for physical circumstances only? NO. Not only as citizens or medical professionals are we responsible for the physical care of society, but the mental care as well. I found an extremely interesting article in Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, a publication from Great Britain, about interventions at the police station. Many times I feel that as a society we overlook opportunities in which we can help each other. I find that this is prevalent especially at say a place like the police station.

Imagine all the times a drunkard or an abuser comes in as a detainee. What do they do to them? They either through them in the drunk tank or let them have a few nights in jail or some time of monetary fine. Is this all they can really do? Could the go a step or two ahead and try and help them, especially repeat offenders? I feel that they could. Again this goes back to that idea of being the front line person that takes the step to help that person.

In the article it suggests that the FME (forensic medical examiner) may be the only healthcare professional that they every see. It goes on further to discuss that when these detainees come in, many times (22-25%) already clearly drunk, and need help with their alcohol problem. The study suggests that there should be a clear focus on who they need to target. The major groups who need to be targeted are young binge drinkers (reminder it legal to begin drinking in Europe at age 18), drunk drivers, and finally and especially domestic violence offenders. These front line interventions would include a 20 minute assessment, and some suggest that these detainees that are clearly drunk should be put in a special