It has come to my attention going over teacher files that one of my elementary teachers has a prescription for Risperdal, which is an anti-psychotic medication to treat schizophrenia. It is my job to decide what to do, and if she is a risk to the children if she stops taking her medications. There are a number of factors to consider before making a decision, as well as ethical issues to evaluate concerning this situation. In order to be morally sound in my decision I need to decide what the right action to take is. So first off, I need to get the facts on this medication.
Ethics on Medication in the Workplace
Risperdal is an “antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia’, but I found it’s also used to “treat bipolar disorder” ("Risperdal: Uses, Dosage & Side Effects - Drugs.com," 2015). So there is a chance she may be taking for this reason as well. She has shown no signs of emotional or physical threat to the children, to herself or anyone else. All of her students love her, and she has never given us a reason for concern. She submitted to her file that she is on medication, and has not tried to hide her medical situation form the school board. So I have to base my decision on facts and ethics, and what is morally right.
Normative Theories in this Case
Ethical relativism states “there is no universal right and wrong”, and no matter what decision I will come to, will have consequences to my actions (Kottler & Shepard, 2015). We have several students here at our
risperidone whereas in this one there was a fixed dose to limit breach in blinding and to facilitate comparison between similar groups, also having this fixed dosage helped prevent bias because when using a titrating schedule of dosing in a randomized trial, it tends to show bias toward a desired goal. Risperidone in this study was well tolerated and there weren’t significant differences in weight gain or sedation(13). One of the main things disliked about risperidone is its tendency to increase the incidence of dyskinesia and other extrapyramidal side effects. In this study only mild and transient dyskinesias were seen in only 3 children, however that could be due to the low fixed dosage(13) of the study.
Help! The emergency 911 call goes “My child is having one of his psychotic episodes and I don’t know what to do!” A mother’s plea for help as she watches her teenage son’s manic episodes unfold; what is a mother to do? Since then, the teenager has been prescribed several antipsychotic drugs such as Aripiprazole (Abilify), thereafter, Risperidone (Risperdal) and a sleuth of others, but none curtails or controls his mood disorder until he is prescribed Depakote. Confused and perplexed, Depakote is an anti-seizure and an anti-psychotic drug that works by increasing the amount of a special neurotransmitter in the brain (drugwatch.com, nd).
We have all seen them. Those countless commercials running all day every day, advertising the benefits of psychotropic drugs. Yet, no one can really tell you what they are for. Then, when one goes to a psychiatrist, many are prescribed these very same mystery drugs, often for feelings or conditions that are commonly found in most people. Psychotropic drugs are everywhere today. Physicians are often being prompted by big billion dollar drug companies to overprescribe psychotropic drugs in order to keep the massive industry moving, despite what damage it may actually be causing the patients who are already in a vulnerable state to begin with.
Some people have questioned whether the widespread use of chemical drugs is ethical. The argument is that the drugs and ECT are dehumanising and take away any sense of personal responsibility or control, as there are significant side effect related to drugs and risks associated with ECT, such as brain damage and even death. People in psychotic
Ethical relativism is the idea that deciding if an action is right or wrong depends on ones own societal normality. The practice of medicine demonstrates this principal. A doctor in one country may see giving a handshake as a welcome as right while in other countries this may not be considered the same.
I interviewed Susan on September 9, 2016 about the medications she takes for her mental health. Susan is a 45-year-old female. She has one daughter Hannah, age 16. Susan and Hannah’s father were divorced when Hannah was three-years-old. Hannah currently lives with Susan during the week and visits her father, who lives about an hour away, every other weekend, some holidays, and several weeks during the summer. Susan lives in Simi Valley and works full-time in West Los Angeles to support herself and daughter. Susan takes two psychopharmacology drugs for her mental health. The first is a 20 mg fluoxetine (Prozac) pill which she takes once a day in the morning to help with her depression. The second is a 1 mg Lorazepam (Ativan) pill which she takes for stress when needed. She usually takes half a Lorazepam pill three to four times a week when she experiences anxiety and chest pain. Rarely does she need to take Lorazepam during the day.
Antipsychotics are generally used to treat psychosis in mental disorders. These disorders include schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (Thyssen et al., 2010). Risperidone is known as an atypical second generation antipsychotic and used in the treatment of a multitude of disorders. This medication can often challenge behavioral problems that are associated with schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Schatzberg & Nemeroff, 2013). It is important for the prescriber to be aware of the side effect and any possible adverse reactions that may occur. There can be many detrimental side effects that someone may not enjoy,
Bipolar disorder is a chronic mental illness that requires lifelong management to be maintained. Another term frequently used for bipolar disorder is manic-depression. This stems from the extreme mood changes of highs and lows that are categorized in this disorder, as the person is usually depressed but will go through manic episodes. Although this is a chronic illness a person with BPD will at times seem symptom-free. The symptom-free person will still need to continue with their medication regimen and therapy as prescribed to maintain the disorder and prevent a relapse. Considering the effects of this mental illness the person with BPD will experience problems with maintaining personal relationships and have occupational difficulties. Suicide attempts are common for this disorder, and a great number of people with BPD will attempt suicide, at least, one time during their life. (Halter, 2014).
Family physicians themselves are under a great deal of pressure from teachers and social workers to prescribe medications such as Ritalin for children who are demonstrating bad behavior or having a difficult time of learning. Even though teachers and social workers are trained to notice and help correct issues, they are most likely not educated on how the drug industry works or the appropriate procedure regarding drug therapy. It is an extremely frightening lethal mixture of ignorance and misplaced trust which remains among social workers and teachers.
In 2012, the Government Accountability office reported 4.5 times more likely to receive antipsychotic drugs such as Abilify and Clozaril than other children covered by Medicaid. In obtaining this information, it was also discovered that multiple drugs at excessive doses were being prescribed and some to infants (Smith, 2012).
This study investigates the impact of long injectable antipsychotic on medication adherence and clinical, Functional and economic outcomes of schizophrenia. The debilitating chronic disease of schizophrenia involves lifelong medical treatment as well as periodic follow up on the treatment. The study suggests that 80% of patients relapse within the first 5 years and this is the period where patients experience majority of cognitive and psycho-social deterioration. Although medications are available to help alleviate the symptoms, majority of patients are non compliant especially when it comes to oral medication. Many studies have been done comparing the relapse, cost, functional outcome, and tolerability and hospitalization rate of
Early onset schizophrenia presents a particular challenge as it is compared to adult onset schizophrenia. It occurs early in life and has a profound impact on a child's behavior and development. Schizophrenia requires lifelong treatment and antipsychotics plays a huge role in the patient’s life. Most of the medications used in children and adolescents are the same as those used for adults but there are not a lot of research done on children and adolescents. Antipsychotic medications are often effective at managing symptoms but there are side effects and health risks that need to be furthered studied. In general, there are many uncurtains of whether there is a real short term and
Chlorpromazine and haloperidol are considered benchmark antipsychotic drugs, and are the most popular treatment methods of all antipsychotic meds. When patients take medications there is a potential for withdraws, side effect, physical or mental changes. Medications may not always work, and are usually short term. So, it’s important for patients to find treatments that work and medications that give patients fewer side affects. Testing on the treatment drugs consisted of finding patients who were already diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like psychoses. Data gathered from registries, trials, and pharmaceutical companies and authors of relevant trials to find effective results. The results yielded for the two medications and found
Ethical relativism is the belief that views of what is morally “right” or “wrong” is dependent on society and cultural norms rather than a global understanding
In order to understand ethical relativism we must first examine its claims. It encompasses a number of different beliefs stating that there are no universal norms or criteria to determine what may or may not be an ethical way to act. This belief is based on how each person or society may interpret the “rightness” of each ethical or moral issue. Society’s ethics change and evolve over time to fit current circumstances. Ethics refers to society’s determination of what is right and wrong while morality refers to an individual’s determination of right and wrong. These two