Introduction
The Affiliates of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), has set up its standards of work and performance. These standards and expectations of conduct at work are the ACHE’s code of ethics. The code has several specific standards of moral conduct to direct healthcare professionals through their professional work and interaction. A self-assessment test is a set of questions that help in the personal evaluation of ethics-related and actions. An individual can assess the areas of strength and weakness in terms of ethical conduct.
Personal Ethical Decision Making
The ACHE code has taught me to be morally sensitive recognizing that moral problems exist (ACHE, 2011, para. 2). This means that I will have to be more aware of how my conduct will affect others and recognizing possible courses and finding the consequences of every possible strategy. It would be very difficult to solve a moral dilemma without recognizing that it exists. I have also learned moral judgment particularly two important aspects of this concept which help determine that a decision is right or wrong. These aspects include defective reasoning to draw sense from an argument and cognitive moral development.
Moral motivation is another concept that will help me to follow certain choices that I will make in the health profession. Sometimes moral values van conflict with other significant values like wealth, career development, job security, and social acceptability. One other crucial thing I picked from the ethical self-assessment is moral character, and this is what will guide me to overcome active opposition to my decision, resist distractions and create sophisticated tactics to achieve my ethical objectives.
The Impact of ACHE Standards on My Ethical Decision Making
The goal of the ACHE code is to be a prototype of conduct for the health affiliates guiding their relationships with patients and colleagues as well as other people receiving these services. The code has affected the way I will be dealing with the community, operating in the organization as well as my conduct to the whole society. The code has a set of rules that guide individual conduct especially on the role of the health professionals (ACHE, 2011, para. 2). The primary objective of the code is to ensure that management professionals can maintain and enhance the quality of life, welfare, and integrity. Because of the code, my decision-making skills will be set to build the confidence, trust, and respect of the medical practitioners and the public.
One great impact has been that I can commit more and bear many obligations to patients and other people in need of medical services. The main management decisions about health certainly affect individuals and communities. As such I have learned that in making ethical decisions, will have to strive to protect and promote the patients’ interests, rights, and prerogative. To demonstrate good leadership abilities that exemplify the highest level of ethical conduct, dedication, and integrity, I adhere to ACHE. I am therefore able to confidently stand up for what is ethically right for me and others. Can act on my values and then prepare much better for me to make effective ethical decisions and bear social responsibilities and actions.
Influence of Individual Ethics on Decision Making
As an individual, I have moral values that I feel appropriate to practice in healthcare. I will be able to be true to my principles, beliefs, and values and therefore enhance the goals of quality healthcare. From the ACHE, I can integrate the standard with my values hence practicing and maintaining high standards of integrity for attaining personal and professional achievement. I can exercise sincerity and openness therefore being able to refrain from unlawful practices. I can stand up for the right principles of ethics and would hold myself and others responsible for inappropriate conduct.
When I get into a situation that requires decision making because there appears to be a dilemma, I will be able to engage in personal reflection. This means recalling previous experiences that required moral, legal, and value assessment and the final decision. This means that I will be able to remember how I made decisions and what I can do to better my ethical decision-making ability.
Strategies for Future Decision Making
The first thing to do is to ensure that I have a clear understanding of my values and moral standing so that I can live these values everywhere (ACHE, 2011, para. 3), at the workplace or home. Sometimes, leaders fail to address their values hence they cannot evaluate be rational.
I will also engage in more action than mere talk. I will take the lead and do what is right all the time and ensure that my actions and words align even when people are cynical about it. Taking the lead in this manner means that perpetrators of unethical activities have to be held responsible. And I will strive to do this by open communication, accountability, and helping develop a working environment where can speak on issues freely as they saw them.
I will also read far and wide to increase my ethical know-how. Ethical dilemmas require a wider knowledge and basis for argument. This makes the process of decision making intricate and quite involving sometimes it could not be easy to tell whether an action is ethical or not and hence develop the best way of handling it.
Conclusion
Unethical behaviors are not basically because these organizations have a few bad people. Essentially, good people could as well do mischievous things for several reasons. For instance, when in dilemma and a person in authority asks them to do otherwise. Sometimes culture could condone such unethical acts or when people are scared of standing up for the truth, values, and beliefs or when it seems to be the order of the day to do certain things. As a health professional, my role is crucial, I have to be well conversant with the ethical rules of the organization and the ACHE code. This would mean that my decision will be well informed.
Reference
ACHE. (2011). Ethics Self-Assessment, American College of Healthcare Executives, Web.