Beneficence and Non-maleficence Flashcards
define beneficence in healthcare
a moral principle that tells you patients are entitled to benefit from care
what kind of right is beneficence in healthcare and why
a positive claim right ; because a positive claim right is one that creates a responsibility for someone else to do something [act] (in this case the healthcare worker providing beneficial healthcare to the patient)
Aristotle defines beneficence as a ?
virtue
what are the differences between active and passive approaches to providing care in regards to being beneficent
Active care is more beneficent (i.e., Engaging with the client – checking in with clients)
Passive care = waiting for patients to reach out to you
what is the difference between broad & narrow approaches to health, in a particular: ILLNESS vs DISEASE
Broad approach = holistic care
Distinction between illness (is the patient able to work/parent effectively based on condition = broad approach) and disease (test results, symptoms, scientific disease = narrow approach)
why is a broad approach to healthcare more beneficent
No one wants to be thought of as just their disease, and just a body being treated, RPNs need to approach the patient with concern with how this disease affects their entire life
what does the doctrine of double effect refer to in providing care
harm and non-maleficence (do no harm) always go hand in hand (Delivering healthcare without harm is impossible)
Delivering healthcare without harm is impossible; what ethical theory suggests doing as little harm as possible makes this okay - why
utilitarianism ; It is okay to inflict some harm on a patient as long as it is outweighed by the expected benefit e.g., chemotherapy for cancer patients, drawing blood for blood test
why is non-maleficence important in addition to beneficence
professionals must exercise due care and caution in working to produce benefit for their patients so that if they cannot do good, at the very least they do not make things worse
how can having a psychiatric diagnosis be both good and bad (beneficial and harmful)
When someone is experiencing distress & they don’t know what’s wrong, having a diagnosis can be a relief
On the other hand, there is stigma – there is something wrong with me, now I have a label/labelled diagnosis
how does involuntary treatment challenge the benefit/harm balance
Serious rights infringement is harmful
treatment is beneficial
How are you going to balance harm against benefit?
how does harm reduction challenge the benefit/harm balance
supervised injection sites and drug testing is beneficial for those who use drugs
can also be seen as problematic for “promoting” or “supporting” the use of drugs
what are 4 examples of challenges to the benefit/harm balance
having a psychiatric [illness] diagnosis
involuntary treatment
restraints for patients
suicide
what is the leading ethical theory in our healthcare system & why
utilitarianism because
- it tends to be a good theory for making money choices.
- It is good for end-of-life decisions
what is the best theory for protecting patients
Deontology
