This week I did not get to spend my time at my internship. I only got to go one day this week because I got my wisdom teeth out. For the one day that I was able to go, I did the same thing I did every other day at the internship site. I stood and watched over Dr. Ross and his assistants work on patients to fix their teeth alignment. One interesting thing that I did see this week at my site was one of my friends come in and get his braces on. It was very interesting to see my friend and have him let me sit in on him while he gets his braces on.
At my internship site it is important that the doctors and assistants follow legal and ethical rules so that they do not get into any trouble. Some legal issues that may become a problem at the site is the scope of practice of the assistants. They are not allowed to do some of the things that orthodontist is allowed to do like put braces on and polish the teeth after taking the patients braces off. Another thing that becomes a problem is the patient's rights. They have the right to refuse treatment which some do want to refuse because they are afraid of dental treatment, but their parents usually make them undergo the treatment anyway. The orthodontist is also responsible for documenting all interactions with the patients and how they have treated them in case they ever need to go back and look at what has been done to the patient.
I have not seen any unethical behavior at my intern site. I have looked out for it quite a bit, but Dr. Ross is very thorough with everything that he does and he always makes sure that he does everything right so that he does not break any laws or ethics. It may be that he has been doing this for such a long time, so he has gotten so used to following the proper procedures on everything that he does that it does not hinder him. I am impressed with how well and smoothly Dr. Ross runs his site and how careful he is to not break any laws or perform unethical behavior.
If I were to notice unethical or legal issues at my internship site, I would start by pointing it out to my advisor and ask if that is something that they should be doing or not. If they say that it is okay, but I know that it is unethical or illegal then I would report them to the police and have them take care of the problem since they are clearly breaking the law on purpose.
I have not noticed any cultural problems in this field of practice. It is most likely because this practice is for cosmetic purposes and if a person's culture does not allow them to have orthodontic treatment then they just simply do not go to the orthodontist and do not get treatment done. I do not know of any cultures that do not let the practicers of the culture not get any work done to their teeth. There may be some out there, but they are not very popular and do not seem to be a problem in this field of work.
Healthcare can have an affect on people if they are receiving poor healthcare. For example, if a person is in poor health because of the ineffective health care that they are receiving, they may not be able to legally fight the care provider. This a problem that comes from health care. This is why there are certain laws like living wills and trusts that become important because even in bad health they will overcome the law help the patient get justice for the healthcare that they are receiving. (Sabatino, "Overview of Legal and Ethical Issues in Health Care - Fundamentals").
Next week I will not be doing a journal. This is the last one because I am approaching the end of my internship. I can not wait for it to be over. I was hoping it would be more fun, but it did help me realize that this is definitely not what I want to do with my life.
Works Cited
Sabatino, C. (n.d.). Overview of Legal and Ethical Issues in Health Care - Fundamentals. Retrieved November 20, 2015, from http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/fundamentals/legal-and-ethical-issues/overview-of-legal-and-ethical-issues-in-health-care
At my internship site it is important that the doctors and assistants follow legal and ethical rules so that they do not get into any trouble. Some legal issues that may become a problem at the site is the scope of practice of the assistants. They are not allowed to do some of the things that orthodontist is allowed to do like put braces on and polish the teeth after taking the patients braces off. Another thing that becomes a problem is the patient's rights. They have the right to refuse treatment which some do want to refuse because they are afraid of dental treatment, but their parents usually make them undergo the treatment anyway. The orthodontist is also responsible for documenting all interactions with the patients and how they have treated them in case they ever need to go back and look at what has been done to the patient.
I have not seen any unethical behavior at my intern site. I have looked out for it quite a bit, but Dr. Ross is very thorough with everything that he does and he always makes sure that he does everything right so that he does not break any laws or ethics. It may be that he has been doing this for such a long time, so he has gotten so used to following the proper procedures on everything that he does that it does not hinder him. I am impressed with how well and smoothly Dr. Ross runs his site and how careful he is to not break any laws or perform unethical behavior.
If I were to notice unethical or legal issues at my internship site, I would start by pointing it out to my advisor and ask if that is something that they should be doing or not. If they say that it is okay, but I know that it is unethical or illegal then I would report them to the police and have them take care of the problem since they are clearly breaking the law on purpose.
I have not noticed any cultural problems in this field of practice. It is most likely because this practice is for cosmetic purposes and if a person's culture does not allow them to have orthodontic treatment then they just simply do not go to the orthodontist and do not get treatment done. I do not know of any cultures that do not let the practicers of the culture not get any work done to their teeth. There may be some out there, but they are not very popular and do not seem to be a problem in this field of work.
Healthcare can have an affect on people if they are receiving poor healthcare. For example, if a person is in poor health because of the ineffective health care that they are receiving, they may not be able to legally fight the care provider. This a problem that comes from health care. This is why there are certain laws like living wills and trusts that become important because even in bad health they will overcome the law help the patient get justice for the healthcare that they are receiving. (Sabatino, "Overview of Legal and Ethical Issues in Health Care - Fundamentals").
Next week I will not be doing a journal. This is the last one because I am approaching the end of my internship. I can not wait for it to be over. I was hoping it would be more fun, but it did help me realize that this is definitely not what I want to do with my life.
Works Cited
Sabatino, C. (n.d.). Overview of Legal and Ethical Issues in Health Care - Fundamentals. Retrieved November 20, 2015, from http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/fundamentals/legal-and-ethical-issues/overview-of-legal-and-ethical-issues-in-health-care