Name: Elaine P.

Roque Date: 09/19/22

Section: BSN 3A

REFLECTION PAPER

Miss Evers’ Boys

As the story begins, Miss Evers is a devoted nurse who genuinely loves her job. She works
with Dr. Sam Brodus, who is among the best doctors she has ever worked with. Both of them are
black professionals of the Tuskegee Hospital in Macoon County, Alabama, wherein the study
takes place. "The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Blacks with Syphilis" was the name of the study.
Miss Evers began visiting the hometowns of numerous black people, informing them that
they would receive free medical care if they only agreed to accompany her. She also assured the
black population that everything would be great, but things eventually did not turn out as she had
anticipated. The government has cut the funding for the medical costs of black people with syphilis
and will only provide funding if a study is conducted on them. Dr. Brodus first disagreed with this
study since he was aware that it would go against the number one rule of nursing ethics, non-
maleficence, which states that one should never harm a patient. On the other hand, Dr. Douglas
is urging Dr. Brodus to comply with the US government because they want to prove the world that
black people and professionals are not less of a person just because of their color or race. While
proving themselves they forgot that they already disobeying the ethical principles of nursing.
Fidelity is the first ethical rule that Miss Evers violated since she broke her professional
vows and she was not faithful on her responsibility as a nurse. The second is veracity because
she originally promised her patients that they would receive treatment, but it never happened, and
their condition only worsened. The third is beneficence/non-maleficence because Miss Evers
already knew what was going on, yet she continued to act normal and failed to protect her
patients. The fourth and last ethical principle that they broke was autonomy, which states that
patients should have had a say in the kind of treatment they receive. Unfortunately, because they
were unaware of their genuine situation, the black participants in the study were unable to make
a decision for themselves. Because Miss Evers broke these four ethics rules, she was given a
court order to show up and disclose all she knew about the study. Miss Evers maintained her
integrity throughout the hearing and said only what was true. Ms. Evers, Dr. Brodus, and Dr.
Douglas avoided jail time at the movie's conclusion because they had no choice but to comply
with circumstances that forced them into action. The US government issued a public apology to
the black people who were the subject of the study. They provided the syphilis survivors 35,000
dollars along with lifetime health insurance, as well as 15,000 dollars to the participant's heirs.
This movie shows what nurse can do and what they can not do with the profession that
they have. Stay truthful to your oath and to your job and be faithful to your patients.