examples Flashcards
1
Q
examples of treatments that are effective but not yet explainable
A
- traditional eastern medicines (e.g. acupuncture, tai chi/meditation)
- deep brain stimulation is currently the best treatment for Parkinson’s Disease, most effective at improving motor symptoms e.g. tremor
- placebo effect
2
Q
public health act 1988
A
- legislation for England and Wales which requires physicians to notify appropriate authorities of any person deemed to be suffering from a notifiable disease
- notifiable disease examples: MMR, tuberculosis, meningitis
- this law was used as the legal basis for the regulations that put into force the stay at home order for COVID-19
3
Q
example of when passion and bias has blinded scientists to what has been objectively proven
A
Sir Fred Hoyle who rejected Hawking’s presentation of the Big Bang theory until his death despite overwhelming evidence (cosmic microwave background)
4
Q
assumptions made by the argument that it is unfair rich people can buy better healthcare than poorer people
A
- that private healthcare provides better treatment than public healthcare: waiting times may be shorter, but most private doctors also work in NHS, and all use the same scientific knowledge
- that only the rich use private healthcare: health insurance is now widely available with the insurance companies e.g. BUPA and is included with many jobs
- the presence of both systems is actually beneficial to all as it helps NHS with patient demands and waiting times, those who receive private care still pay taxes to fund the NHS, so free up resources for those who are dependent
5
Q
examples of technology that have ethical objections
A
- use of embryonic stem cells
- genetic editing with CRISPR-Cas9
- use of pig/cow valves for heart valve disease
- blood transfusion
6
Q
examples of technological developments to reduce ethical issues
A
- induced pluripotent stem cells, doesn’t involve destroying an embryo
- metallic heart valve instead of pig/cow valve
- cell saver devices instead of blood transfusion, collects the blood lost during surgery, cleans it and returns it, disadvantage: lower % of RBCs are recovered than in transfusion
7
Q
examples of creativity in science
A
- creativity is exploring the original and unusual with imagination and curiosity, straying from the normal way of thinking to solve complex problems
- e.g. Doudna and Charpentier’s discovery of the innovative gene technology of CRISPR-Cas9 taken from the natural mechanism that bacteria uses to fight off viral infections
- e.g. Alexander Fleming’s discovery highlights that scientists have to be flexible and creative. If he hadn’t noticed that the mould contaminating his Petri dish had inhibited the growth of the staphylococcal bacteria, and interpreted this even though it was not part of the initial plan, the life-changing discovery of penicillin would not have come about
8
Q
examples of when doctors withholding information may be acceptable
A
- withholding bad news from a patient who may not be able to cope with the truth, doctors may feel it is in the patient’s best interests as telling them would only burden them more or lead to psychological damage
- not telling a patient participating in a randomised, blinded clinical trial that they are receiving placebo instead of the drug (although the patient has consented to be in the trial so has technically consented to receiving the placebo)
- being completely honest with relatives would breach the confidentiality of a patient
9
Q
penicillin discovery - example of luck in discoveries
A
- a fellow scientist was in the lab below happened to be working with this rare strain of fungi which happened to produce large amounts of penicillin
- Before going on holiday, Fleming left his dish of bacteria out on the lab bench instead of putting it the incubator
- While Fleming was away, there was an exceptionally cool 9-day period, which favoured the growth of penicillium mould, after which the temperature rose, stimulating the growth of staphylococcus
10
Q
example of moving from paternalism to patient-centred care
A
- Bolam test which asks whether a doctor’s conduct would be supported by a responsible body of medical opinion
- no longer applies to the issue of consent in 2015 following the judgement in the Montgomery case
- mentality has moved from doctor focussed to patient focussed
- the patient now decides what they want to know and should be told all relevant risks however small unless patients expresses a wish not to be told
11
Q
example of things that are said to be true but have no physical evidence
A
- religion, has no material evidence that can be replicated and documented in a scientific fashion,
- the existence of God has not been positively proven (however it could be argued that just because humans haven’t found hard evidence yet, doesn’t mean it is not the truth)
- a person’s testimony - often held as the truth without any material evidence
12
Q
Terrorism Act 2000
A
-doctors must report to the police any information that might be relevant in preventing an act of terrorism
13
Q
Tuskegee Syphilis Study
A
- ran from 1932 to 1972
- after being recruited by the promise of free medical care, 600 African American men in Alabama were enrolled in the project
- the men were not given penicillin to treat their syphilis to satisfy the scientific enquiry of the long-term effects of syphilis on the human body
- to track the disease’s full progression, researchers provided no effective care as the men died, went blind, insane or experienced other severe health problems due to their untreated syphilis
14
Q
Evidence based medicine
A
- the process of systematically reviewing and appraising clinical research findings to aid the delivery of optimum care for patients
- highlights the importance of rigorous, unbiased and well-conducted research
- alternative medicine is not evidence based as there is insufficient proof with regards to its effects
- However, it could be argued that the positivist nature of EBM limits its applicability as it focusses on objectivity and social/subjective factors may be missed
15
Q
changing science
A
- In medieval times, it was though that imbalances of thefour humours: phlegm, blood, yellow bile and black bile, caused illness: we have now proved this wrong and know that illness can be caused by many factors including pathogens, genetics and lifestyle
- Thalidomide, many doctors prescribed it for morning sickness but after finding out its detrimental effects on babies, it is no longer widely prescribed
