FERNANDEZ, BLESSIE P.

Overpowering of Patients

“Becoming a person in an impersonal environment,” David L. Rosenhan, a

psychologist, stated on his study, Being Sane in Insane Places. Commonly, people only
see powerlessness to have occurred with normal citizens in normal situations. But
according to Rosenha’s study, powerlessness extends well beyond strictly medical and
treatment-related issues. People are unaware of the pejorative approach inside a
treatment-related establishment. It may seem like it was all just way of disciplining
patients but does medical treatment hospital staffs necessarily imposed power? The
excessive punishment for patients’ misdemeanor should not be tolerated because it is
an indication that patients are deprived of their privacy, freedom of movement and legal
rights.

On the contrary, having the authority towards apprentice will bring them to
organizing, and disciplining patients towards their cases. Some patients are sometimes
uncontrollable thus they cause disorder on the post. That is why disciplining patients is
acceptable.

Patients, especially psychiatric patients, should only be controlled however,

sometimes it is becoming undue. Patients are deprived of their freedom of movement.
For example, Rosenhan stated on his study Being Sane in Insane Places, a study about
detecting sanity and insanity using the experiment towards pseudo patients, “I have
records of patients who were beaten by staff for the sin of having initiated verbal
contact.” He also added, pertaining to the every patient inside the pseudo patients
setting, “His freedom of movement is restricted. He cannot initiate contact with the staff,
but may only respond to such overtures as they take.” Rosenhan have claim these
statements himself because he was one of the pseudo patients, thus his study is
reliable. Another statement of Rosenhan on his same study, he says “Patients quarters
and possessions can be entered and examined by any staff member, for whatever
reason. Personal history and anguish is available to any staff member who chooses to
read his folder.” As far as it may concern, medical records are supposed to be
confidential. Therefore, in this establishment, patients are deprived of their privacy and
cannot argue for they are overpowered.

Furthermore, punishing patients for their minor wrong doing is not acceptable for
it is a sign that legal rights of patients are being violated. According to the National
Health Council, Principles of Patients Rights and Responsibilities number 1, ‘All patients
have the right to timely access to specialty care and confidentiality protections,” means
patients should be treated courteously with dignity and respect. It is only right to treat
patients equally as a human being, as a person in a referred to be asylum.

Patients’ behavior is inevitable but controllable. However controlling someone by

means of imposing power particularly punishing will never ever be justifiable.
Maltreating patients’ covers their deprivation of their rights, mainly, their right of privacy
for unreliable staffs usually doesn’t care about the laws because they think they are the
law. Patients are strictly monitored and are deprived to move except only when told to.
Rights are being disobeyed, thus sometimes; patients are not treated as human in an
impersonal environment. Hence, disciplining patients by means of punishing is not
justifiable because it violates ones’ legal rights.