Week 1-4 Flashcards
Define: Ethics
Ethics is a branch of philosophyand is concerned with what is morally good and bad, right and wrong
Define: Morals
character and standards of behaviour
Define: Values
ideals against which we judge the significance and importance of things
Explain: Ethical dilemma
An ethical dilemma occurs when there is a difference in opinion or understanding of what is right or wrong, where there is a choice, decision or action to be taken where few or all of the options may be unattractive or less than desirable
What are the 3 main Ethical theories
Teleology (utilitarianism)
Deontology
Rawl’s theory of justice
Define: Teleology
is referred to as results-oriented ethics
- Relative
- consequentialism
eg. taking a life might be right or wrong depending on the circumstances
Define: Deontology
Intrinsic ethical absolutes
eg. Taking a life is always wrong
What are the 2 key theorists in Deontology
Kant and Ross
Define: Bioethics
the systematic study of the moral dimensions-including moral vision, decisions, conduct and policies- of the life sciences and health care, employing a variety of methodologies in an interdisciplinary setting
Explain: Rawl’s theory of justice
it combines the strengths of utilitarianism and deontology
Two fundamental principles:
- Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive total system of equal basic liberties
- Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so they are of the greatest benefit to the least advantaged
What are the 4 Ethical Principles
Autonomy
Beneficence
Non-maleficence
Justice
Define: Non-maleficence
Do no harm
Refrain from deliberately inflicting harm on a person or self
Define: Beneficence
Actively bring about a benefit for a person
Define: Autonomy
refers to the capacity to make informed decisions about ones life in order to determine for oneself whether or not the course of action is in ones best interest
Define: Justice
acting fairly
Define: Veracity
is based on the principle of truth telling, grounded in respect for persons and the concept of autonomy
Define: Paternalism
this is the interference by an individual with another person against their will with the claim that the person interfered with will be better or protected from harm
What are the categories of Law
Statue law (inc. criminal)
Common law
Civil law
What are the levels of law
Federal
State
Local
Laws from what part of the legal system apply to the whole of Australia
Laws passed down by the Parliament of the Commonwealth
When was the Nuremberg Code developed
1948
Explain: Nuremburg Trials
It was the legal trials of the Nazi doctors at Nuremberg that conducted medical
experiments on thousands of concentration camp prisoners
without their consent. Most of the participants of these
experiments died or were permanently disabled as a result
Who developed the 4 principles of bioethics
Beauchamp and Childress (2008)
The ICM International definition of the Midwife is….
A midwife is a person who has successfully completed a midwifery education programme that is duly recognized in the country where it is located and that is based on the ICM Essential Competencies for Basic Midwifery Practice and the framework of the ICM Global Standards for Midwifery Education; who has acquired the requisite qualifications to be registered and/or legally licensed to practice midwifery and use the title ‘midwife’; and who demonstrates competency in the practice of midwifery.
Explain: National competency standards
The national competency standards for the midwife are the core competency standards by which your performance is assessed to obtain and retain your licence to practice as a midwife in Australia.
- The overarching framework for the competency standards is women-centred care, and the standards are underpinned by primary health care principles.
- There are four domains in the provision of woman centred care that the competency standards cover
What are the 4 domains of the midwifery competency standards
Legal and Professional Practice (1 and 2)
Midwifery Knowledge and Practice (3-6)
Midwifery as Primary Healthcare (7-10)
Reflective and Ethical Practice (11-14)
4 Midwifery Competency Standards
Explain: Legal and professional practice competencies
Competency 1: Function in accordance with legislation and common law affecting midwifery practice
- Element 1.1: Demonstrates and acts upon knowledge of legislation and common law pertinent to midwifery practice.
Cue – practices midwifery within the requirements of legislation and common law
Competency 2. Accepts accountability and responsibility for own actions within midwifery practice
4 Midwifery Competency Standards
Explain: Midwifery Knowledge and Practice competencies
Competency 3. Communicates information to facilitate decision making by women
Competency 4. Promotes safe and effective midwifery care
Competency 5. Assesses, plans, provides and evaluates safe and effective midwifery care
Competency 6. Assesses, plans, provides and evaluates safe and effective midwifery care for the woman and/or baby with complex cares.
4 Midwifery Competency Standards
Explain: Midwifery as Primary Healthcare Competencies
Competency 7. Advocates to protect the rights of women, families and communities in relation to maternity care.
Competency 8. Develops effective strategies to implement and support collaborative midwifery practice
Competency 9. Actively supports midwifery as a public health strategy
Competency 10. Ensures midwifery practice is culturally safe.
4 Midwifery Competency Standards
Explain: Reflective and Ethical Practice Competencies
Competency 11. Bases midwifery practice on ethical decision making
Competency 12. Identifies personal beliefs and develops these in ways that enhance midwifery practice
Competency 13. Acts to enhance the professional development of self and others
Competency 14. Uses research to inform midwifery practice
What are the 8 Code of Ethics for midwives
- Midwives value quality midwifery care for each woman and her infant(s): This involves midwives assisting each woman during pregnancy, birth and the early postnatal period, providing support, advice and care according to individual needs
- Midwives value respect and kindness for self and others: It includes respecting the individual ethical values people might have in the context of midwifery care
- Midwives value the diversity of people: requires midwives to appreciate how different cultural backgrounds and languages may influence both the provision and receipt of midwifery care
- Midwives value access to quality midwifery care for each woman and her infant(s): access refers to the extent to which a woman and her infant(s) or a community can obtain midwifery services
- Midwives value informed decision making: This includes each woman having the opportunity to verify the meaning and implication of information being given to her when making decisions about her maternity care and childbirth experience
- Midwives value a culture of safety in midwifery care: involves midwives actively engaging in the development of shared knowledge and understanding of the importance of safety – physical, emotional, social and spiritual – as a crucial component of contemporary midwifery care
- Midwives value ethical management of information: requires the information being recorded to be accurate, non-judgemental and relevant to the midwifery care of the woman and her infant(s)
- Midwives value a socially, economically and ecologically sustainable environment promoting health and wellbeing: Midwives value strategies aimed at preventing, minimising and overcoming the harmful effects of economic, social or ecological factors on the health of each woman, her infant(s), family and community
What are the 3 components of the Code of Professional Conduct
- Midwives practice competently in accordance with legislation, standards and professional practice.
- Midwives practice within a woman centred framework
- Midwives practice midwifery reflectively and ethically
Code of Professional Conduct
Explain: Midwives practice competently in accordance with legislation, standards and professional practice (1-6)
- Midwives practise in a safe and competent manner.
- Midwives practise in accordance with the standards of the profession and broader health system.
- Midwives practise and conduct themselves in accordance with laws relevant to the profession and practice of midwifery.
- Midwives respect the dignity, culture, values and beliefs of each woman and her infant(s) in their care and the woman’s partner and family, and of colleagues.
- Midwives treat personal information obtained in a professional capacity as private and confidential.
- Midwives provide impartial, honest and accurate information in relation to midwifery care and health care products.
Code of Professional Conduct
Explain: Midwives practice within a woman centred framework (7-9)
- Midwives focus on a woman’s health needs, her expectations and aspirations, supporting the informed decision making of each woman.
- Midwives promote and preserve the trust and privilege inherent in the relationship between midwives and each woman and her infant(s).
- Midwives maintain and build on the community’s trust and confidence in the midwifery profession.
Code of Professional Conduct
Explain: Midwives practice midwifery reflectively and ethically (10)
- Midwives practise midwifery reflectively and ethically.
Define: AHPRA
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency
Explain the role: AHPRA
Is the organisation responsible for the implementation of the national registration accreditation scheme across Australia
How many boards make up AHPRA
14
What legislation is AHPRA governed under
Health Practitioner Regulation National Law of NSW
Explain: Health Practitioners Regulation National Law Act 2009
(1) The object of this Law is to establish a national registration and accreditation scheme for -
(a) the regulation of health practitioners; and
(b) the registration of students undertaking—
(i) programs of study that provide a qualification for registration in a health profession; or
(ii) clinical training in a health profession.
What are the mandatory registration requirements fro practicing midwives
Criminal history – 10 considerations such as the nature of the offence and its relevance to health practice, the time since the offence was committed, whether the individual was found guilty and the sentence imposed for the offence, and the behaviour of the practitioner since that offence.
English language skills - all applicants must demonstrate English language skills, these requirements do not apply to students until the completion of the course
Professional Indemnity Insurance
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) – 20 hours per year for RN and RMs. Written documentation is required.
Recency of Practice - 3 months full time equivalent within 5 years.
Accreditation under the Health Practitioner Regulation
National Law Act
(the National Law) Document
What are the 8 domains of the Quality framework
- Governance - the accreditation authority effectively governs itself and demonstrates
competence and professionalism in the performance of its accreditation role. - Independence – the accreditation authority carries out its accreditation operations
independently. - Operational management - the accreditation authority effectively manages its resources
to carry out its accreditation function. - Accreditation standards - the accreditation authority develops accreditation standards
for the assessment of programs of study and education providers. - Processes for accreditation of programs of study and education providers - the
accreditation authority applies the approved accreditation standards and has rigorous, fair
and consistent processes for accrediting programs of study and their education providers. - Assessing authorities in other countries (where this function is exercised by the
accreditation authority) - the accreditation authority has defined its standards and
procedures to assess examining and/or accrediting authorities in other countries. - Assessing overseas qualified practitioners (where this function is exercised by the
accreditation authority) - the authority has processes to assess and/or oversee the
assessment of the knowledge, clinical skills and professional attributes of overseas
qualified practitioners who are seeking registration in the profession under the National
Law and whose qualifications are not approved qualifications under the National Law for
the profession. - Stakeholder collaboration - the accreditation authority works to build stakeholder support
and collaborates with other national, international and/or professional accreditation
authorities.
Human rights in childbirth
Describe: Principle-Human Dignity
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood
Human rights in childbirth
Describe: Principle-Respectful treatment
For the purposes of this Declaration, the term “violence against women” means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation whether in public or in private life.”
Human rights in childbirth
Describe: Principle-Autonomy and Consent
A competent woman, who has the capacity to decide, may, for religious reasons, other reasons, for rational or irrational reasons or for no reason at all, choose not to have medical intervention, even though the consequence may be the death or serious handicap of the child she bears, or her own death
Human rights in childbirth
What are the Principles of human rights in childbirth
Human dignity
Respectful treatment
Autonomy and Consent
Choice
Define: Non-consented care
procedures performed without adequate information or dialogue to enable autonomous decision-making, undue pressure to make specific clinical choices
Define: Misinformed care
biased, non-transparent clinical information, disabling women from giving true informed consent, breech birth is particularly interesting on this point
The Nuremberg Code (1948) has been replaced by…
Declaration of Helsinki of 1964
Define: Ethical issue
An ethical issue occurs when there is a difference in opinion or understanding of what is right or wrong.
Define: Ethical dilemma
An ethical dilemma is created when there is a decision to be made or an action taken.
What are the 3 elements/type of Ethics
Meta ethics- are how we work out what we mean by good or bad or if we are happy with our decisions.
Ethical theory- is the way in which we can explain or solve ethical problems; it is sometimes referred to as a formula for explaining difficult problems
Practical ethics- concern daily aspects of life and also include daily aspects of medicine, business and midwifery
What are the 2 distinct areas of the Law
Criminal law
Civil law
Explain: Burden of proof
is the task of having to prove an offence has been committed
Criminal law
What 2 elements must the prosecution prove were present at the time an offence was committed
Actus Reus- the acttivity that constitutes an offence
Mens Rea- the intention to commit an offence
What is the Hierarchical structure of the courts in Australia
High Court (Federal court of Aus) State/Territory Court of Appeal State/Territory Supreme Court District/County Courts Local Coourts or Magistrates Court
What AHPRA national board applies to nurses and midwives
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia
When was the NMBA established
1 July 2009
What are the 5 registration requirements for midwives
- Criminal history registration standard
- English language skills registration standard
- Registration standard: Continuing professional development
- Registration standard: Recency of practice
- Registration standard: Professional indemnity insurance arrangements
What are examples of unregulated professions
Doulas Birth assistants Midwives without registration Electrical engineer! Complementary therapists – some regd some not (Chinese Practitioners)
The national body overseeing registration of health professionals in Australia is the…..
Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)
The national body overseeing registration of midwives in Australia is the:
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia
The traditional purpose of a professional regulatory scheme is to…
protect the public
Define: Collaboration
is the ability to work cooperatively, to share responsibility for solving problems and making decisions with the aim of formulating and carrying out plans for patient care
What are the 5 elements of the Continuum of Collaboration
- Communication: individuals from different disciplines talking together.
- Co-operation: low key joint working on a case-by-case basis.
- Co-ordination: more formalized joint working, but no sanctions for non-compliance.
- Coalition: joint structures sacrificing some autonomy.
- Integration: organizations merge to create new joint identity.
The traditional purpose of a professional regulatory scheme is to:
Protect the public
Explain: Professional boundary breaches
boundary violations are departures from usual practice that are harmful to the patient
What are professional boundaries
The Code of professional conduct for midwives in Australia defines professional boundaries as:
the limits of a relationship between a midwife and the woman and her infant(s) and any of the woman’s significant other persons. These limits facilitate safe and appropriate practice and result in safe and effective midwifery care. Limits of a relationship may include under‑or over‑involvement in the provision of midwifery care
What are the ACM Consultation and Referral
Guidelines
A- Discuss: with another health professional
B- Consult: evaluating woman’s care and needs with another health professional
C- refer: to a medial health professional for duration of concerning problem
