Final answer:
If asked to check on someone's hospital admission status, it is ethically correct to politely decline due to patient privacy laws. Ethical dilemmas often require weighing different duties and consequences, as seen in philosophical debates and healthcare privacy standards.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the scenario where your mother asks you to check if her friend was admitted to the hospital where you work, the appropriate action is to politely tell your mother that due to patient privacy laws, you cannot deny or confirm her friend is in the hospital. This response upholds the strict confidentiality rules in the healthcare environment and respects the privacy of the patients. In ethical dilemmas like these, principles of confidentiality, just like those involving law enforcement and theft, the duty to protect, and medical care ethics, highlight the importance of maintaining professional standards and personal integrity.
For instance, philosophers have long debated scenarios where personal obligations conflict with ethical or legal ones. Thinking like a philosopher involves weighing different duties and consequences. If we consider the Act Utilitarian perspective, for example, the action that leads to the greatest good for the greatest number is typically favored; however, in the healthcare environment, patient confidentiality is a legal requirement and moral obligation that overrides this general guideline.
Similarly, when faced with a conflict between a perfect duty and an imperfect duty, such as keeping a promise versus saving a stranger's life, the ethical resolution would generally incline towards fulfilling the more pressing moral responsibility, in that case, providing life-saving CPR. Afterward, resolving the broken promise with an apology would be the next best step.