else. When something threatens the soundness of thebody, mind, or spirit, an individual may behaveinappropriately. Occasionally, there are temperoutbursts, episodes of pouting, sarcastic remarks,unreasonable demands, or other inappropriateresponses, often to the point of disruptive behavior.The healthcare provider is challenged to look beyondthe behavior being displayed to identify the underlyingstress and to attempt to relieve the immediate andobvious source of anxiety. This may be as simple ascommunicating, through your care and understandingof the patient as an individual, that Navy medicine ispleased to provide a caring service.PROFESSIONAL ETHICSLEARNING OBJECTIVE: Recognize theconcept of professional ethics.The word ethics is derived from the Greek “ethos,”meaning custom or practice, a characteristic manner ofacting, or a more-or-less constant style of behavior inthe deliberate actions of people. When we speak ofethics, we refer to a set of rules or a body of principles.Every social, religious, and professional group has abody of principles or standards of conduct thatprovides ethical guidance to its members.During your indoctrination into the military, youwere introduced to the Code of the U.S. FightingForces. This code of conduct is an ethical guide thatcharges you with certain high standards of generalbehavior as a member of the Armed Forces.All professional interactions must be directlyrelated to codes of behavior that support the principlesof justice, equality of human beings as persons, andrespect for the dignity of human beings. Upholdingmedical ethics is the responsibility of all HospitalCorpsmen. Upon completion of basic Hospital CorpsSchool, you took the following pledge:I solemnly pledge myself before God andthese witnesses to practice faithfully all of myduties as a member of the Hospital Corps. Ihold the care of the sick and injured to be aprivilege and a sacred trust and will assist theMedical Officer with loyalty and honesty. Iwill hold all personal matters pertaining to theprivate lives of patients in strict confidence. Idedicate my heart, mind, and strength to thework before me. I shall do all within my powerto show in myself an example of all that ishonorable and good throughout my navalcareer.This pledge morally binds you to certainresponsibilities and rules that are included in thescience of medical ethics. Ethics, whether they beclassified general or special (e.g., legal or medical),teach us how to judge accurately the moral rightnessand wrongness of our actions. The one element thatmakes healthcare ethics different from general ethics isthe inclusion of the moral rule, “Do your duty.” Thisstatement is a moral rule because it involvesexpectations (e.g., of confidentiality). It involves whatothers have every reason to believe will beforthcoming. Failure to fulfill these expectations is todo harm to your clients (i.e., your patients) and/or yourcolleagues. Through the Hospital Corpsman Pledge,you committed yourself to fulfilling certain duties, notonly to those entrusted to your care, but also to allmembers of the healthcare team. It is this commitmentto service and to mankind that has traditionallydistinguished the United States Navy Hospital Corpswherever its members have served.PERSONAL TRAITSLEARNING OBJECTIVE: Recognizeimportant personality traits of a healthcareprofessional.A Hospital Corpsman must develop many personaltraits that apply to all petty officers. You can get ageneral understanding of them by referring to MilitaryR e q u i re m e n t s f o r P e t t y O f f i c e r T h i rd C l a s s(NAVEDTRA 12024).The following traits, however, apply especially toyour Hospital Corps duties and are essential for goodperformance.INTEGRITYNowhere in the Navy is the need for personalintegrity so great as in the Hospital Corps, where wedeal continually with people, their illnesses, and theirpersonal problems. The information that we haveaccess to falls into the category of “privilegedcommunication.” We, as Hospital Corpsmen, have noright whatsoever to divulge any medical information,however trivial, to any unauthorized individuals.2-4
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