professional practice, virtues and ethics Flashcards
what is the hipocratic oath?
- Traditional moral basis for ancient Greek medicine
- Do no harm, act in patient’s best interests, honour your mentor, value of life, good morals, confidentiality
- No euthanasia or abortion, no relationships between the doc and patient
- Knowledge used to be upheld by just the doc - now, medical knowledge has been made public
what are the GMCs four domains of good medical practice?
- Knowledge, skills and performance
- Maintaining trust
- Safety and quality
- Communication, partnership & teamwork
what are the GMC duties of a doctor?
Knowledge - work with in competence care of patient is first concern
Saftey and Quality - health of patients in public, and taking prompt action for patients comfort
Maintain trust - be honest and don’t discriminate
what is deontology?
Deontology is an ethical theory that uses rules to distinguish right from wrong.
(Here, autonomy is prioritised over beneficence)
what is consequentalism?
Consequentialism - an act is right or wrong depending on its consequence
(Here, beneficence is prioritised over autonomy)
what are the pros and cons of deontology?
Pros → No uncertainty with actions, rules followed, Value of every human, knowledge of things that are always wrong
Cons → There is no list of exceptions, issues when duties conflict, happiness reduced, not always choosing the ‘best’ result, only right and wrong (no grey area)
what are the pros and cons of consequentialism?
Pros → Mostly good outcomes, common sense, flexible, compatible with any circumstance
Cons → We cannot predict future results, bias, selfish individual outcomes may negatively affect others, ‘dehumanising’ - exclusively about max. happiness
what is virtue ethics?
Virtue Ethics - what a virtuous (good) person would do in the same situation
If you possess and live the virtues, you are a good person
what are the Five focal virtues - Beauchamp & Childress?
Compassion, discernment, integrity, trustworthiness, conscientiousness
what are the pros and cons of virtue ethics?
Pros → People-centred, considers emotions, regards people’s lives, what good people would decide, duties and obligations can become burdens-this focuses on changing attitudes and character so people want to do the right thing
Cons → No set guidelines for dilemmas, subjective virtues, biased virtues towards a culture or ruling power
what does the GMC say in regards to social media?
good- That engaging with social media can be positive- you can engage people in public health and facilitate access to information about health + health services.
Bad - don’t let social media blur the professional boundaries if your patient contacts you via social media, don’t put any patient identifiable information online, if you identify yourself as a doctor you could be representing the profession (so check yourself before you wreck yourself)
what are the 4 principles of the NHS (“prima facie”)?
Autonomy, Beneficance, non-maleficance, justice
what are the 3 types of justice?
Distributive justice- Fair distribution of scarce resources
Right based justice- respect for patients human rights
Legal justice- respect for morally acceptable laws
what are the 4 quadrants approach when considering a case?
1) medical indications- medical situation, treatment options, beneficence for that patient through treatment
2) patient preferences
3) quality of life- aim to maintain/improve quality of life
4) contextual features- economic, religious, cultural factors, decision’s impact on patient’s family and medical team, (doctor must reflect on their personal bias)
what is the difference between autonomy and paternalism and when are they used?
autonomy- patients right to make decisions
paternalism- a doctor decides what is right and makes decisions with minimal consent, used when a patient cannot consent (e.g if a patient is unconscious do everything you can to revive them)
