Introduction to Clinical Ethics and Professionalism Flashcards
What is clinical ethics?
limited to doctor-patient encounter, families, heathcare workers, medical insitituions
“principles governing the ideal human behavior”
deliberation and explicit arguments to justify particular actions
What is clinical ethics not?
not laws
-sets minimally acceptable standard of conduct
not morals
-accepted customs or convictions of people
Professional Ethics?
AOA has formulated this code to guide its member physician in their professional lives. Responsibilities to patients, society, AOA, to others involved in healthcare and to self
Address your obligation to the profession, not to the patient
Autonomy?
People are able to make decisions for themselves as long as they can understand and make intentional decisions voluntarily
legal right of patient self determination is based on this principle
Benificence?
Obliqes the person to benifit or help others
requires positive action
-prevent what is bad/harmful, remove what is bad/harmful, do or promote what is good or benificial
Justice?
people receive what they are entitled to
allocate scarce healthcare resources
Nonmaleficence?
persons to refrain from harming others
refrain from killing them or treating them cruelly
one of non intervention
due care to no intentionally harm others through actions such as reckless driving or careless surgical procedures (dont make bad situation worse)
Principle based ethics?
helpful in understanding ethical issues, but many times the principles conflict, not as helpful in resolving dilemmas when they conflict
criticized for strong reliance on rules, duties, rights, and dealing with patients as strangers
Casuitry?
Case based approach to ethical decision making
ultimately must resort to some ethical rule, guideline or principe for justification
Weakness with casuitry?
does not provide clearly articulated ethical rules or principles
Ethics of care?
act unselfishly for the benifit of others
values sympathy, compassion, fidelity, discernment and love
Virtue-based ethics?
what would a good physician do in this case
feelings, motivations, duties, not only actions but character
virtuous people sometimes can perform wrong actions
Narrative based ethics?
puts emphasis on learning patients story
learn patient perspective and meaning to the patient
Most cases solved?
by using two or more of these approaches
Patient as a person history?
asking patient what they know about their illness, how it affects them, any religion or something that helps them get by, if they want to talk about it