Section 3 Info Flashcards
four pillars of medical ethics
autonomy
beneficence
non-maleficence
justice
what is autonomy
ability to make decisions freely
patients must be able to come to their own decisions and these must be respected
no patient can be forced to undergo any treatment against their will and the doctor must always gain consent
what is beneficence
encouraging what is best for the patient
doctor must act in the patient’s best interest, bearing in mind their lifestyle and preferences
what is non-maleficence
doctor must ‘do no harm’, both intentional and through negligence
what is justice
doctor must act in accordance with the law, the patient’s individual rights and sometimes the general societal conventions
what is consequentialism
judges whether a decision is morally correctby what the outcome is
ends justify the means
arguments for consequentialism
only result of action remains
goal-centred plan may be more effective
wrong to choose something that may produce an overall worse result
arguments against consequentialism
not possible to predict outcomes with 100% certainty
decisions made in order to achieve an outcome may be morally questionable
there may not be an impartial view of what is good - different opinions
‘most positive outcome’ may not align with ideals of fairness or equity
actions justified under consequentialism mat infringe on personal rights
what is utilitarianism
maximise utility
greatest good of the people
what would utilitarianism view on ‘self-inflicted’ diseases
remove NHS funding for ‘self-inflicted’ as it would mean greater funds for the rest of the population, maximising utility
universal healthcare
healthcare without financial hardship
up to each country to decide which services are covered
highest possible level of health achieved fundamentally
evidence based medicine
‘process of reviewing, appraising and using clinical research findings to aid delivery of optimum care to patients’
method which ‘best practice’ is chosen in the NHS and NICE - recommended course of action
logical positivism
meaningful human knowledge can be reduced to logical and scientific foundations
based on idea that whatever exists and is meaningful can be tested through experiments, observation and/or logical proof
logical positivists believe in objective truth
statements can be true or false or meaningless
relativism
no universal truth
no standpoint is privileged over the others
moral relativism and cultural relativism
cartesian dualism
mind and body are distinct and separable
views body as more of a machine, encouraging logical and scientifically based solutions
