FINAL Flashcards
normative ethics
branch of moral philosophy that seeks to identify moral standards of right and wrong conduct
practice ethics
attempts to justify a particular way of life and resolution to moral conflict
virtue ethics
an ethical theory that focuses on personal character
specification
process by which general principles are applied within specific cases; involves discernment of rules that are applicable to each case
casuistry
case based method for resolving moral conflict
narrative ethics
method of resolving moral conflict that relies on story use
professionalism
activity that involves both the distribution of a commodity and the fair allocation of a social good, but that is uniquely defined according to moral relationships
medical futility
situation when medical treatment cannot produce desired results
substituted judgement standard
decide as the patient would decide- surrogates attempt to choose as the previously autonomous would have
best interests standard
determining the best course of action for the patient- appropriate when patient was never autonomous
principle of double effect
principle with 4 conditions that mist be satisfied to justify an action with one morally good and one morally wrong outcome
quickening
occurs when a fetus begins to move independently of the mother
somatic cell nuclear transfer
cloning (can be used to create a person or for purpose of harvesting stem cells)
distributive justice
fair allocation of benefits and burdens of social and economic goods
formal/ procedural justice
consistent application of material criteria and principles of justice
material/substantive justice
specific criteria or principles used to determine what people are due
liberty principle
Rawls first principle= everyone should have comprehensive set of liberties that is compatible with everyone having the same set
difference principle
Rawls second principle= 1)inequalities should be attached to positions open to everyone under conditions of equality and 2) must be to greatest benefit of the least advantaged members
clinical research
evaluates new treatments for safety and efficacy
biomedical research
basic and applied research aimed at increasing medical knowledge
preclinical research
aims to generate increased understanding of disease and new strategies for effective and safe treatments- measured in humans
differences between modern and ancient hippocratic oath
globalization, individualism, and pluralisms of values (increased diversity), and technology have all changed the Hippocratic oath, but these updates have not changed the underlying aim of the profession to care for and protect patients
3 core elements of the medical profession
devotion to medical service, public profession of values, and negotiation regarding values (with society)
-these elements work together by: devotion driving improvement, public profession acting as a way to police doctors and psychologically striving to be their best selves, and negotiation takes all different opinions into account (how to pay and what treatment is allowed)
stages of the professional activism spectrum
routine advocacy, internal dissent, public dissent, direct disobedience, indirect disobedience, and principled exit from practice
autonomy and ethical theories
autonomy requires agency (ability to do) and liberty (freedom from constraints); ties to utilitarianism (greatest good for greatest number with freedom) and deontology (personal value)
-competence is important bc it allows for agency (no competence= no agency)- must be careful that HC profs cannot declare incompetent and strip agency
competence judgement problems
gatekeeping can be dangerous and can lead to the removal of autonomy of a competent agent:
autonomous authorization= precocious child= giving authorization for the moral right to choose
legal structures= rules to generally protect autonomy (18yo)
-in a perfect world we strive for AA, but legal structures must be in place to ensure consent formation**
informed consent
competence, voluntariness, disclosure, understanding, recommendation, decision, and authorization
influences on autonomy
coercion- threat of harm (physical or emotional)
persuasion (by reason- which can be permitted in disclosure, and emotion- not permitted)
manipulation- skewing the presentation of data to emphasize your position or withholding info
3 standards of surrogate decision making in practice
autonomy is taken first, but if not available then substituted judgement std, then best interests (best interests can be taken if bias exists in close relations)
professional obligations vs legal, personal morals, and personal values
legal= disagrees with profession obligations and cannot compromise profession
personal morals= religious and identity that guide all life choices
personal values= stand alone, influencing decisions and must be removed for professional obligations
conventional response to case of infected spouse
her right to life trumps his right to confidentiality
public health/ safety> confidentiality
-probs= this could damage the profession as a whole through the dr-pat relationship
-kipnis= we should always keep the confidential rule to protect the profession- ensure spouse gets treatment
patient responsibility vs dr obligations
there is an imbalance in power between drs and pats- therefore dr obligations carry more weight than patient responsibility
- also, historical pattern of paternalism and still subtle paternalism removes some patient control= dangerous
- we should place greater responsibility on dr bc they chose to take burdens for society (chose the profession)
prospective vs retrospective responsibility
pro= education, preventative forward looking
retro= seeking to assign blame/ culpability
* we favor pro bc assigning blame will change nothing, but improving for the future will account for all areas problem could have arisen in
-retro doesn’t work bc many factors involved and pro will strengthen the dr pat relationship (follows duty to protect the vulnerable- socioeconomic), and saves money (political) and compassion based (virtue ethics)
fact value distinction
your values can impact which “facts” are real to you and which are not. we must also take social facts into account when dealing with patients to account for diversity
=default is that death is a scientific fact, but need to ground in social fact bc depending on values the patients definition of death may change