Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You do the test.
Surely your supervisor will understand when she knows the circumstances.
You tell your sister that you will do it.
The next morning, you analyze your data and you determine that your sister
Debbie does have a sleep disorder. You are happy to be able to help her get
started on a plan that will help her sleep better. However, when you tell
your supervisor what you have done, your supervisor is displeased.
He explains to you that medical professionals such as yourself must always
appear above suspicion. Even though you and Debbie are honest, an outsider
could question your integrity. For example, people might say, "Debbie is
just using this sleep disorder thing to make excuses for not having much energy.
It's just a joke. Her own brother did the testing."
Your supervisor says that incidents like that are bad for the clinic's
reputation. He also adds that if they allow one person to test a relative,
it will be difficult to enforce the rule later on when other technicians want
exceptions made. "I will have to talk to the clinic director about this,"
he says. "There could be disciplinary action."
You regret your decision. You realize that if you are to continue working
in this field, you will have to observe the code of ethics very closely.