1800CPAP Education Fund Scholarship Winner

Thank you to all those who submitted their work for the scholarship! We appreciate the time, effort, and hard work you put into responding. We are proud to announce the winner of our $1,000 1800CPAP.com Scholarship Winner: Donovan Fowler. Please read his submission below on whether health care workers should be allowed to refuse medical treatment.

Q: Should health care workers and providers be allowed to refuse medical treatment?

A: During times of crisis, we rely on our health care workers and providers to treat both our loved ones and ourselves. Ultimately, we rely on healthcare workers to save lives. More often, however, healthcare workers improve the lives of their patients. The ability to be treated by a medical provider is a basic right. Some countries believe in this right so deeply that they offer medical care free of charge. If we consider medical care as a basic human right, all individuals should have access to medical care. Healthcare workers and providers should not be allowed to refuse medical treatment due to lack of finances. In addition, healthcare workers should not be able to refuse treatment based on their own biases and prejudices. Every single human being on this planet deserves to have proper care and treatment. Medical care as a human right is referenced in the oath that doctors and nurses must take in order to practice. In both of these oaths, doctors and nurses pledge to protect and help their fellow human beings. This portion of their pledge seems to be forgotten at times. We live in a world where some health care workers and providers don’t always put the needs of their patients before their own needs and prejudices. If those health care workers and providers could put their systemic prejudices and economic greed aside, we would never even have to ponder whether or not they should be able to refuse treatment.