questions testing critical thinking Flashcards
In what ways can doctors promote good health other than through the direct treatment of an illness
During consultation, the doctors could encourage patients to lead healthy lifestyles. This can be done by promoting safe sex and promoting the importance of exercise via display posters in their surgery
Doctors should also promote support groups so that those suffering from some sort of addiction can find help
Immunisation campaigns are also an important component and provide appropriate immunisation services such as vaccine buses and centres. These immunisation campaigns can extend into social media
How does politics influence healthcare decisions
Politics is involved with the funding of the healthcare system.
The level of care that the NHS can provide is determined by the budget that the government provides. This budget comes from National insurance contributions, which is limited if the elected positions do not want to anger the voters. Therefore, often the budgeting of the NHS is often a balance between meeting the needs of the healthcare system and not losing voters goodwill by increasing the taxes.
The way in which awareness campaigns are often influenced by the personal beliefs of politicians and often intertwined with politics e.g. the fight against covid
There is a complex argument between whether clinicians should have more control over the NHS compared to politicians. The argument that favours clinicians states that they know best about patients care while the argument in favour of politicians states that the NHS is a public institution funded by taxpayers and so it is only right that policy should be directed by the people
Do you think it is eight to allow private healthcare to run alongside the NHS
There are valid arguments for both for and against private healthcare systems
For example, if there were no private healthcare sector in the UK, many might go abroad to receive treatment. If any complications occur, it would be ultimately up to the NHS to follow up on this issue once the patient returned to the UK.
This, therefore, leads to the argument that it is better to treat patients where you have control over the quality of care rather than dealing with the potentially negative consequences of their treatment abroad
Private healthcare also takes relieves the pressure that the NHS faces daily. This is because it makes the waiting list shorter and so NHS users can be seen too quickly.
An argument against private healthcare, however, such as the fact that it is financially driven. This raises issues with the motivation of the doctor, which may not necessarily align with the core values of the NHS e.t.c integrity. Furthermore, due to the financial incentive, the doctors may simply go along with the patients’ wishes rather than considering their best interests
Another issue for private healthcare is that it does not provide full coverage. For example, if a patient requires intensive care, they may be needed to be transported to a better-equipped NHS hospital for example. This can result in the suffering of the patient who was already in a fragile situation
After considering both sides of the argument,
I believe that there is a place for both private and public healthcare
What do you think of the way doctors are perceived in the media
In some cases, doctors can be portrayed as heroic, for example during the pandemic and even in TV series where the acts of doctors are glorified.
However, cases like Harold Shipman can easily lead the media to distrust the doctors
In my opinion, the media can be used to aid the public trust in the healthcare system. But as easily it does this, the media can easily dramatize cases that lead to the villainization of the healthcare system
what does the phrase “inequalities in healthcare” mean to you
Most who live in lower socio-economic areas may have received a poorer education. This can easily lead to them not understanding their health needs or having a poor understanding of the available services that can better their health such as gyms, addiction centres, alcoholic anomalous e.t.c
Private healthcare sectors may also pose another inequality. This is because private healthcare typically helps the wealthier part of the population which neglects the needs of the poor who are often the ones who requires the most help
Where a person lives may also lead to others being more advantaged than others in the context of healthcare. For example, there is an uneven distribution of resources leading to issues in access to primary healthcare
what are the arguments for and against people paying for their own healthcare
There are both pros and cons to paying for your own healthcare
For example
The current system of healthcare calls for everyone to pay National Insurance despite being in good health. Therefore, only paying whenever you are ill can be seen as a clear advantage since logically, in the grand scheme of things, you would save a lot of money
Having people who are beneficial to the NHS as it would motivate people to not only live a significantly more healthiest lifestyle but stop people from going to the hospital over minor issues such as a simple cold.
However, the cons of paying for your own healthcare would be that it would negatively impact the poorer of society. Considering that those living in disadvantaged geographical areas often are the ones with bad health. It, therefore, follows that they would suffer the worse if you had to pay for your own healthcare.
Patients, therefore, seek cheaper alternatives which can be less effective and not safe
whar are alternative medicine/complementary therapies
What are your opinions on them
Again, there are both pros and cons to using alternative treatments. Examples of alternative therapies are:
- hypnosis
- Chinese medicine
- Herbalism
e.g. acupuncture, the deeper patient-therapist relationship may fulfil the needs of patients who may require a much more holistic approach to treatment
Crystals
which a person may use alongside their treatment may fulfil the patients’ spiritual needs. This can be a source of calm for the patients which can ultimately contribute to better mental health especially if the treatment they receive was highly invasive
Arguments
However, an issue with alternative therapies is that they are often poorly regulated. This has led to fakes exploiting the trust that patients who believe in the legitimacy of the treatments - which is without saying is unethical
Furthermore, some complementary therapies involve taking substances that can be toxic e.g. kiver toxicity of some Chinese Medicine treatments. This means that they ultimately can lead to more harm than good and potentially worsen the condition that they are currently receiving conventional treatment for
what is an alternative medicine
therapy that is taken instead of conventional treatment
what complementary therapy
therapy taken alongside conventional treatment
should the NHS deal with patients who have self-inflicted diseases
This is a difficult question to ask. This is because the majority of diseases are self-inflicted even though it may not necessarily be obvious e.g. sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV. Therefore, neglecting to treat these diseases would ultimately lead to the healthcare system only treating a small minority of conditions
Furthermore, it is difficult to see the extent to which a disease is actually self-inflicted. This raises a major practical issue for only treating non-self inflicting diseases
On the other hand, treating patients with a self-inflicted disease may only serve as a temporary solution. The patient can easily relapse to the previous habits that led to their current condition. Therefore, it follows that treating self-inflicted diseases does not actually solve the deeper issue at hand and makes people feel less responsible for their own health.
Ultimately, it is up to those who use the healthcare system to decide how they would use the healthcare system.
Should alcoholics and smokers receive equal treatment to those who don’t drink and don’t smoke
similar to self-inflicted diseases
The resources in the healthcare system are already scarce, therefore it may worsen the public image of the healthcare system if they say that these resources are being sued on people that are “underserving”
On the other hand, treating patients with a self-inflicted disease may only serve as a temporary solution. The patient can easily relapse to the previous habits that led to their current condition. Therefore, it follows that treating self-inflicted diseases does not actually solve the deeper issue at hand and makes people feel less responsible for their own health.
what are the arguments for and against the sale of tobacco
A very obvious argument for the sale of tobacco would be that people have the right to choose what is good for them. It is their choice to take a health risk. Furthermore, banning the sale of tobacco would simply lead to it being sold underground like many drugs. The tobacco situation would simply grow to the point where it is uncontrollable.
Tobacco leads to serious respiratory issues. The resources in the healthcare system are already scarce, therefore it may worsen the public image of the healthcare system if they say that these resources are being sued on people that are “underserving”
how do you go on researching something you know nothing about
- Talk to people who are experts in the field or have undertaken a similar type of research previously
- Look on the internet and in specialist medical databases
- Consult journals and magazines. Look in books
How do you know what you don’t know
First, it is important to look to identify any weaknesses that you have in your knowledge. This can be done by obtaining feedback from others and assessing yourself against a known list of criteria such as a syllabus, tick list of skills e.t.c.
After this, it is important to fix the gaps in your knowledge. This can be done via seeking advice and learning from colleagues and attending suitable courses. You can then test your new knowledge acquired through assessment
Should the NHS fund non-essential surgery
Non- essential surgery can be an incredibly subjective topic
Non - essential surgery may seem like they are not important, however, in the grand scheme of things, the surgery may actually be good for the long term mental health of the patients. This reduces the potential of the patient developing depression which can further put a strain on the NHS
That being said, the surgery may actually not address the deeper issue of low - self-esteem which can be treated better through psychological or psychiatric intervention and so treating the underlying problem may also be more suitable than cosmetic surgery.
