A thread regarding an assignment for course HMA/508: University of Phoenix, School of Business,
Henrietta Lacks and Health Care Leadership - Sara Stickels
Henrietta Lack’s served a life full of purpose more than she could have imagined. The author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot, wrote the novel with intentions of emphasizing the importance of Ms. Lacks contribution to medical science and why she should be remembered.
Skloot, the author, provided numerous amounts of fascinating, relevant information regarding Henrietta Lacks life, medical diagnosis and treatment, and the use of her cells, called “HeLa” cells, following her passing. It is hard to pass judgment on Ms. Skloot on whether or not her emphasis of Henrietta’s contributions were significant enough, though one must remember that Rebecca Skloot did not exist in any form of the unethical mistreatments done during or after Henrietta’s involvement with John Hopkins. Rebecca Skloot’s sole purpose of the novel was to inform others about what happened, as opposed to gain financially. The author, with the help of Deborah Lacks and Christoph Lengauer effectively illustrates the significance of Henrietta Lack’s life.
Learning who Henrietta Lacks was, and thinking of her as a person and not merely just cells or DNA used for research is just as important as the history itself. The impact of the novel on the family has caused a rollercoaster of emotions for years. Descendants of Henrietta Lacks began giving speeches, and starting their own foundations, some of which inherited monetary gains. Five of her family members even served as paid consultants for the movie, staring Oprah. Members of the family continuously attempt to emphasize the importance of Henrietta’s life, as two were selected for reviewing requests from researchers to use HeLa cells by NIH. These actions taken by specific family members have caused increased tensions between descendants of Henrietta Lacks, but there is no legal appointed authority who has control over speaking about the entire situation (Hendrix, 2017).
It is the opinion of select members of the Lacks family and various other communities of individuals following the story revolving Henrietta Lacks that there are problematic elements in the novel by Rebecca Skloot involving how she portrays Lacks and her family. While I do not necessary agree that the author intended to offend or “rip off” anyone in this novel, I can see where misconceptions may be portrayed, such as when Rebecca Skloot states Deborah’s words, “She’s the most important person in the world and her family living in poverty. If our mother is so important to science, why can’t we get health insurance?” (Skloot, 2010). This was not a direct quote by the author, but by a Lacks family member, which still remains offensive to other family members, and can be viewed as making the Lacks family still seem to be living in poverty and treated unfairly, like Henrietta was.
I absolutely agree with Lengauer’s quote that it is important to know about Henrietta Lacks. The conversation between Christoph Lengauer and Deborah in the book allowed Deborah to explain that while HeLa cells are her mother, and not just objects of scientific study, she did not deny the importance of the science (Skloot, 2010). Throughout the book, scientists feared that increased patient consent would lead to a decline in research, but Deborah demonstrates a point by explaining that it is possible to coexist the remembrance of the humanity of a patient and understanding the importance of science. Christoph Lengauer served a valuable purpose within the novel by always acknowledging the Lacks family as humans throughout their interactions, offering them his time, knowledge, empathy, and accounting for the institutional racism they endured which continues to exist in the medical community.
The story about Henrietta Lacks allows myself, and other medical professionals to become more aware about the unethical situations which may arise in health care, or have in the past. After reading this novel, I consider myself to be a more ethical leader, as I am able to consider the science and the potential harm with unethical choices regarding medical science. The mention of the way Henrietta’s doctor viewed patients throughout the novel is absolutely heartbreaking. Skloot states, “like many doctors of his era, TeLinde often used patients from public wards for research….. many scientists believed it was fair to use them as research subjects as a form of payment” (Skloot, 2010); the fact that at any time in American history, patients treatments were based upon their wealth, social status, or skin color is appalling, but the fact that it continues to occur in medicine today disgusts me.
Medical professionals can take various steps to prevent unethical practices today. I believe it is just as important for leaders in health care to occasionally review the importance of medical ethics as it is for their employees to understand. By allowing ethics speakers to conduct presentations in health care organizations, all members of that organization can benefit from the review of unethical practices and avenues to take to prevent those mishaps. Ethics experts also provide different ideas regarding ethics to groups within the organization. These experts can provide a ear or voice when health care workers are looking for someone to reach out to regarding ethics and/or behaviors. Ethical speakers and experts incorporated at the workplace would provide more benefits than simply providing continued education on ethics to employees (Wood, 2014).
Henrietta Lacks and Health Care Leadership - Sara Stickels
Henrietta Lack’s served a life full of purpose more than she could have imagined. The author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot, wrote the novel with intentions of emphasizing the importance of Ms. Lacks contribution to medical science and why she should be remembered.
Skloot, the author, provided numerous amounts of fascinating, relevant information regarding Henrietta Lacks life, medical diagnosis and treatment, and the use of her cells, called “HeLa” cells, following her passing. It is hard to pass judgment on Ms. Skloot on whether or not her emphasis of Henrietta’s contributions were significant enough, though one must remember that Rebecca Skloot did not exist in any form of the unethical mistreatments done during or after Henrietta’s involvement with John Hopkins. Rebecca Skloot’s sole purpose of the novel was to inform others about what happened, as opposed to gain financially. The author, with the help of Deborah Lacks and Christoph Lengauer effectively illustrates the significance of Henrietta Lack’s life.
Learning who Henrietta Lacks was, and thinking of her as a person and not merely just cells or DNA used for research is just as important as the history itself. The impact of the novel on the family has caused a rollercoaster of emotions for years. Descendants of Henrietta Lacks began giving speeches, and starting their own foundations, some of which inherited monetary gains. Five of her family members even served as paid consultants for the movie, staring Oprah. Members of the family continuously attempt to emphasize the importance of Henrietta’s life, as two were selected for reviewing requests from researchers to use HeLa cells by NIH. These actions taken by specific family members have caused increased tensions between descendants of Henrietta Lacks, but there is no legal appointed authority who has control over speaking about the entire situation (Hendrix, 2017).
It is the opinion of select members of the Lacks family and various other communities of individuals following the story revolving Henrietta Lacks that there are problematic elements in the novel by Rebecca Skloot involving how she portrays Lacks and her family. While I do not necessary agree that the author intended to offend or “rip off” anyone in this novel, I can see where misconceptions may be portrayed, such as when Rebecca Skloot states Deborah’s words, “She’s the most important person in the world and her family living in poverty. If our mother is so important to science, why can’t we get health insurance?” (Skloot, 2010). This was not a direct quote by the author, but by a Lacks family member, which still remains offensive to other family members, and can be viewed as making the Lacks family still seem to be living in poverty and treated unfairly, like Henrietta was.
I absolutely agree with Lengauer’s quote that it is important to know about Henrietta Lacks. The conversation between Christoph Lengauer and Deborah in the book allowed Deborah to explain that while HeLa cells are her mother, and not just objects of scientific study, she did not deny the importance of the science (Skloot, 2010). Throughout the book, scientists feared that increased patient consent would lead to a decline in research, but Deborah demonstrates a point by explaining that it is possible to coexist the remembrance of the humanity of a patient and understanding the importance of science. Christoph Lengauer served a valuable purpose within the novel by always acknowledging the Lacks family as humans throughout their interactions, offering them his time, knowledge, empathy, and accounting for the institutional racism they endured which continues to exist in the medical community.
The story about Henrietta Lacks allows myself, and other medical professionals to become more aware about the unethical situations which may arise in health care, or have in the past. After reading this novel, I consider myself to be a more ethical leader, as I am able to consider the science and the potential harm with unethical choices regarding medical science. The mention of the way Henrietta’s doctor viewed patients throughout the novel is absolutely heartbreaking. Skloot states, “like many doctors of his era, TeLinde often used patients from public wards for research….. many scientists believed it was fair to use them as research subjects as a form of payment” (Skloot, 2010); the fact that at any time in American history, patients treatments were based upon their wealth, social status, or skin color is appalling, but the fact that it continues to occur in medicine today disgusts me.
Medical professionals can take various steps to prevent unethical practices today. I believe it is just as important for leaders in health care to occasionally review the importance of medical ethics as it is for their employees to understand. By allowing ethics speakers to conduct presentations in health care organizations, all members of that organization can benefit from the review of unethical practices and avenues to take to prevent those mishaps. Ethics experts also provide different ideas regarding ethics to groups within the organization. These experts can provide a ear or voice when health care workers are looking for someone to reach out to regarding ethics and/or behaviors. Ethical speakers and experts incorporated at the workplace would provide more benefits than simply providing continued education on ethics to employees (Wood, 2014).