Critical Race Theory in Healthcare
Select a topic of moral controversy: Critical Race Theory in Healthcare
• What would an Ethical Egoist say about this topic? What side would the Ethical Egoist take? What would the Ethical Egoist say to justify their moral position? Is there a conflict between loyalty to self and to community relevant to your topic? If so, how so? Note what you feel is the best course of action.
• What would a Social Contract Ethicist say about this topic? What side would the Social Contract Ethicist take? What would the Social Contract Ethicist say to justify their moral position? Does your topic involve a collision between personal obligations and national ones? If so, how so? Note what you feel is the best course of action.
Finally, reference and discuss any professional code of ethics relevant to your topic such as the AMA code for doctors, the ANA code for nurses, or any other pertinent professional code. State whether and how your chosen topic involves any conflicts between professional and familial duties.
Requirements
• Length: 3-4pages (not including title page or references page)
• 1-inch margins
• Double spaced
• 12-point Times New Roman font
• Title page
• References page (minimum of 5 scholarly sources in addition to the course textbook)
Side note: I am a minority and believe there are racial disparities in healthcare.
Critical Race Theory in Healthcare
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Critical Race Theory in Healthcare
Critical race theory entails ideas that portray how racial bias is inherent in various realms of society, including the healthcare sector since regulations were designed and implemented by the dominant racial group. Indeed, its four primary ideas are race consciousness, praxis, centering margins, and contemporary orientation (Zewude & Sharma, 2021). The racial disparity has been a significant issue in the healthcare industry. That is why it is necessary to shift the focus from the dominant group to individuals who have been squeezed to the margins. The paper focuses on the perspectives of an ethical egoist and social contract ethicist on the critical race theory in healthcare. Moreover, it discusses the American Nurses Association (ANA) code of ethics and how it might involve conflicts between familial and professional duties.
Ethical egoism refers to making moral decisions by being entirely guided by an individual’s self-interest. In other words, a person’s actions maximize his or her benefits (Tilley, 2021). In that light, an ethical egoist would perceive critical race theory in healthcare based on his or her racial background. If the individual belongs to the dominant group, it would be difficult for him or her to accept that racial disparities exist. However, if the person is from a minority group, he or she can push for respective changes to realize equality. Since an ethical egoist engages in things that maximize his or her self-interest, the person would lean toward what is best for himself or herself. For example, if the individual is a minority, he or she can justify his or her moral position by saying that rules need to be revised to ensure that all individuals have the right to get treated by the physician of their choice. Notably, race consciousness, a primary idea of the critical race theory, emphasizes assigning value and meaning to cultural and physical differences between individuals (Zewude & Sharma, 2021). In particular, conflicts exist between loyalty to self and community. For instance, when it comes to healthcare providers, loyalty to self might make them push for equality and better financial benefits in the workplace. However, the individual might not bother pushing for policies that ensure quality care for patients belonging to his or her community. As such, the best course of action would be for individuals to fight for equality not only for themselves but for their communities as well.
The social contract theory depicts that individuals live together in an organization or society based on the agreements or rules that shape their political and moral behaviors. Effective ethical norms and moral principles should have cross-cultural validity (Ast, 2019). On that note, a social contract ethicist would perceive the critical race theory to be relevant in healthcare. Healthcare providers and patient...