Tuskegee Legacy

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Pages: 5

The Lasting Legacy of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study
Passed down from generation to generation, African Americans have recounted the horror stories concerning the humiliation and abuse caused by the medical community. Leading further to a culture untrusting of those who have taken the sacred Hippocratic oath. In the book Medical Apartheid author Harriet Washington uses the term “Black iatrophobia” to define African American culture as fearful of medicine; this fear is attributed to an extensive history of inhumane experimentation against the Black race in the United States dating from the days of colonial slavery to the era of modern medicine. ENTER STRONG CONCLUDING SENTENCE.
One of the most unethical and longest sanctioned government medical
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Nursing research, broadly defined, encompasses both research to improve the care of people in the clinical setting and also the broader study of people and the nursing profession, including studies of education, policy development, ethics, and nursing history (Taylor, 2011). One could easily deduce that Nurse Rivers did not improve the quality and care of the participants nor did she implore ethical standards in acting responsible as a nurse. Moreover, Nurse Rivers violated the trust of theses men and their families and contributed to the death of over twenty-eight men. In order to eliminate health disparities among vulnerable populations, nurses must be that voice of reason to advocate for all patients at all times regardless of the social or political climate that exists. Nurses need to recognize and understand the historic implications of public policies and discrimination affecting health of various racial and ethnic groups. Cultural competency is imperative to undo the wrongs of the past, challenging healthcare professionals to take the lead and highlight practices that are unethical. It is a truism that racism in health care is morally wrong and should not be embodied in the beliefs and practices of either individual health care professionals or health care institutions (Johnstone & Kanitsaki, 2010). Understanding how …show more content…
U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study at Tuskegee. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee
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