Chapter 11: Health Care Communication Ethics

Health care communication ethics is a notion of communication that is not commonly thought of in our everyday lives. For me, at least, I have never truly thought about the way health care professionals communicate. In reading chapter 11 of our textbook, however, I have realized that the way health care professionals interact with patients is incredibly important. On page 198 of the textbook there is a quote that I think is crucial to this topic. “…for all of us when existence simply reminds us that in such moments our final freedom rests with how we respond.” This really hits home the idea that health can be a scary thing, but mindset helps us get through it. Health care providers have to constantly maintain the “good” that is care. They need to care for their patients both physically and mentally. A person may not able to control what their body is doing, but they can control how they think about it. Illness can be devastating, but having doctors, nurses, and family that take care of your mental well-being can make illness easier to get through.

                Right after I was born my grandma died at the age of 47.  She had cancer for seven years, and it finally took its toll on her. My mom was 21 at the time, and she had seen it coming for years, but she still couldn’t handle it well. She never anticipated that when she had her first kid she wouldn’t have her mom there to help her. However, my grandma had a positive mindset throughout the entire process. Even though she knew it wouldn’t end well, her doctors and family kept a positive mindset in hopes that this would help her get through this with less mental pain. For ethics in health care communication the notion that “No matter what meets us—whether joy, sadness, or sorrow—the human being has one final freedom: our response (198).” This was so true for my family, and I can tell that a positive response helped my family get through it.