Ethics Flashcards
4 characteristics of a profesion
- distinct body of knowledge and skill
- contributes to social benefit
- members accorded autonomy
- members have special obligations
use in the process of ethical decision making template to broaden the scope of ethical “content” to include other actions or traits of character that promote the good, are good or are otherwise meant to describe actions that are right
values
the 4 principles described under pinciplism
- respect for autonomy
- beneficence
- non-maleficence
- justice
what does veracity mean
telling the truth
what does fidelity mean
keeping promises
what is respect for life
life having intrinsic value
what is respect for persons?
respecting people’s decision, privacy, identity, and physical boundaries
not disclosing patient ifno
confidentiality
being true to core values in the face of conflict or other trials
integrity
the welfare of individuals is often bound up with the welfare of their families
family relationships
feeling for the suffering of others
compassion
friendliness, generosity, being considerate
kindness
valuing the knowledge, skill, and relationships that other healthcare professionals have with patients
health care relationships
reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, of a person or thing; confidence or confident expectation of something; hope
trust
profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person or warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend
love
______________ serve as frameworks or perspectives that individual moral agents can bring to bear on the situations confronting them
ethical theories
____________ characterized by an emphasis on the moral character of the person because it is presumed that morally appropriate decisions occur as a result of being decided by morally sensitive and skilled people
virtue ethics
___________ is a habit of behaving in a good way. Accordingly, virtue theorists focus principally on the education and development of the agent making the decision.
A virtue
Virtue theorists focus on?
the education and development of the agent making the decision
common virtues? (6)
OH FICK
Openness Honesty Fairness Integrity Compassion Kindness
Virtue ethics emphasizes?
the moral character of the persons involved
___________________ begin with the assumption that what makes an action primarily right or wrong is some intrinsic property not of the moral agent but of the action itself
Deontological or formalist theories “conforms with one fo the ten commandments”
Which theories are often associated with Kant?
Deontological (formalist)
According to deontological / formalist theory, if you want to know if a proposed action is morally permissible, which question should you ask?
Can I, as a rational agent, consistently will that everyone in a similar situation should act this way (not what are the likely consequences)
or
Is this action in accord with teh requirement to treat other people as ends in themselves and not merely as means
Which two of the four principles of principleism are formalist in nature?
justice
autonomy
Deontology or Formalism is primarily concerned with?
what actions are right based on the actions themselves - not the moral agents
Respecting peoples choices and treating them fairly are two examples of ethical principles that are ___________- in nature
formalistic - they are not concerned with the outcome or the consequences but the nature of the actions themselves
The end never justified the means is representative of which theory?
deontology or formalism
__________________ focus on what one seeks to accomplish with an action
Consequentialism
Two principles that are consequentialist in nature
beneficence
non-maleficence
the most prevalent form of consequentialist theory is that theory known as ____________
utilitariansim
utilitarianism =
the theory which instructs us to act so as to cause the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people
principle =
a foundational ethical concept that is meant to inform, guide, and shape the behaviors and decisions of those involved
Respect for autonomy
autonomy means self rule - respecting the choices of people - respect the capacity of individuals to choose their own vision of the good life and act accordingly
beneficence
doing good (Foster the interests and happiness of other persons and of society at large)
nonmaleficence
not harming
justice
treating people fairly (distribute benefits and burdens in an equitable fashion, and resolve disputes by means of fair procedures / non discriminatory)
what happens when principles conflict?
there is no pre-established order –> must weigh and balance
Casuistry - the method of casuistry employs….
case based reasoning - comparing a new case to a similar paradigm case that has been resolved
One method of understanding the concrete situations of cases is with “narrative” which…. does what?
views health care knowledge as storytelling knowledge… The patient’s illness is the telling of a story that requires empathy and compassion and that is introduced into the patient-professional relationship through the use of language
narrative contributes to medical ethics through content =
and analysis of their form =
content = what they say
analysis of form = how they are told and why it matters
who is the ultimate author of the patient’s narrative?
the patient - this will help the practitioner to understand and accept a patient’s moral choices
The approach of narrative ethics would be to…
emphasize the storytelling aspects of the “case” where the patient’s illness is the telling of a story that requires empathy and compassion
using narrative ethics, what should happen rests on what?
the formation of an appropriate next chapter in the story -
feminist ethics / ethics of care
seeks to unmask and challenge forms of male bias - marked by attention to so called “private spheres” such as reproduction
ethics of care - seeks to?
seeks to take the moral experience of women seriously - emphasize the importance of focusing on the patient and professional on the context of his or her relationships
_____________ considers emotional commitments and a willingness to act unselfishly for the benefit of others
ethics of care
feminist ethics would emphasize ______
a concern for the welfare of all women and a belief that women have historically been - and continue to be - oppressed by patriarchal societies
ethics of care approach would emphasize
the importance of focusing on the patient and the professional context of his or her relationships
important differences between law and ethics?
law provides for a minimally acceptable standard - not our best
law explicitly grants health care professionals discretion in certain setting to exercise professional judgment
law provides no clear guidance in some circumstances
law and ethics may conflict
ethics is a larger construct - we can always ask - is this a good law?
Value equation =
increased quality and safety and increased patient centered / decreased cost
value equation = increased quality and safety and increased patient centered / decreased cost
what is embedded in increased quality /
what is embedded in increased patient centered-ness
what is embedded in decreased cost?
beneficence and non-maleficence
respect for patient autonomy
justice
