In the therapeutic settings, the relationship between doctor-patient has its core concepts which include the Principles fiduciary partnership, compassion, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and beneficence. Such kind of policies is expected in governing the relationship between the patient and the doctor. Regarding boundary problems, several reasons contribute towards it such as Physicians moral weakness, emotional vulnerability, exploitative character, ignorance, and other similar factors may contribute a lot hence resulting to violations, sexual and non-sexual boundary crossings (Fink, 2016). However, Physicians are worthy subjects who are held with high dignity by the society, but they end up compromising such great honor to the satisfaction of their needs. In such terms, for the medical personnel, it is their duty to discharge their services to the billions of people who are suffering both psychological and physical disorders and not extend beyond boundaries of their patients. Such unethical issue among the doctors which involve the shadow of interrogation, mistrust, and secrecy at American prison limited medical personnel from treating mental illness among the detainees (Fink, 2016). The physicians behavior towards their clients in all aspects it must be consistent as per the culture and norms of the society they live. In that regard, that is the reason as to why medical personnel are required to abide by the Hippocratic Oath of practicing medicine ethically.
Therefore, Physicians have an ethical obligation of caring all patients with confidentiality, nonmaleficence, and beneficence. And within this trusted and privileged relationship, they must address the patients interest instead of their own (Doherty, & Purtilo, 2015). On the other hand, the boundary is derived from ethical jurisprudence, cultural morality, and treatise and due to that, all medical personnel is advised to be so decent in observing and maintaining such boundaries without tampering with them in any way. In that case, patient's authentic choices and goals must always be respected (Fronek, & Kendall, 2016). Therefore doctors should uphold the fundamental ethical principle by respecting the patients dignity as it is a solution towards physician-patient boundary problem. In that connection, it has been discovered that whenever the patient and psychiatrist have become friendly immediately, it led to the compromising of the therapeutic relationship which is unethical. And this is because many cases of sexual exploitation have involved many predator doctors due to boundary crossing.
References
Fink, S. (2016, November 12). Where Even Nightmares Are Classified: Psychiatric Care at GuantAnamo - The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/world/guantanamo-bay-doctors-abuse.html?_r=0
Doherty, R. F., & Purtilo, R. B. (2015). Ethical dimensions in the health professions. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Fronek, P., & Kendall, M. B. (2016). The impact of Professional Boundaries for Health Professionals (PBHP) training on knowledge, comfort, experience, and ethical decision-making: a longitudinal randomized controlled trial. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1-8.
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