Power and Politics (1)

Question 1

What are the 4 pillars of ethics, according to Beauchamp and Childress’ taxonomy of medical ethics?

Answer 1

Autonomy = freedom to act independently
Non-malificience = do no harm 
Beneficience = do good
Justice = fairness

Question 2

What is consequentialism?

Answer 2

Ethical validity of an action is based on the outcome of that action - e.g. a good outcome from an action that questions moral values is still considered ethically valid

Question 3

What is utilitarianism?

Answer 3

Maximise human welfare and wellbeing

Ethically right choice = most happiness and least unhappiness for the largest number of people

Question 4

What is the issue with pure utilitarianism?

Answer 4

WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and vaccination programmes maximise human well-being

These are so effective, according to utilitarianism, there’s almost a reason to stop everything else and only put efforts into WASH and vaccines

Question 5

What is the least cost-effective part of a hospital?

Answer 5

NICU
Neonatal intensive care unit - economically, these infants born preterm with major issues = costly to look after
Esp. because those saved often accumulate more care costs later on