Medical ethics Flashcards
What are the four pillars of medical ethics?
Beneficence (doing good)
Non-maleficence (to do no harm)
Autonomy (giving the patient the freedom to choose freely, where they are able)
Justice (ensuring fairness)
What is consequentialism?
Consequentialism is an ethical ideology that states the morality of an action is dependent purely on its consequences. A simpler way to phrase this would be that the “ends justify the means”. If your action has an overall benefit, then it does not matter about the action itself.
What is utilitarianism?
Utilitarianism says the best action is that one that brings about the best increase in utility (benefit). Utility is generally considered on a broad scale, often taking into consideration wider society and not just the patient in question. It’s a form of consequentialism.
What is deontology?
Deontology is also known as “duty-based ethics”. This ideology states that the correct course of action is dependent on what your duties and obligations are. It means that the morality of an action is based on whether you followed the rules, rather than what the consequence of following them was.
This is in direct contrast with consequentialism.
What is benificence?
Beneficence means that all medical practitioners have a moral duty to promote the course of action that they believe is in the best interests of the patient.
What is non-maleficence?
Non-maleficence states that a medical practitioner has a duty to do no harm or allow harm to be caused to a patient through neglect. Any consideration of beneficence is likely, therefore, to involve an examination of non-maleficence.
What is autonomy?
In Medicine, autonomy means that a patient has the ultimate decision-making responsibility for their own treatment. A medical practitioner cannot impose treatment on a patient.
What is justice?
Justice – in the context of medical ethics – is the principle that when weighing up if something is ethical or not, we have to think about whether it’s compatible with the law, the patient’s rights, and if it’s fair and balanced.
