Week 5: Ethical behaviour & Decision Making in Health Care Flashcards
Explain the relationship between ethics and morals
- Ethics and morals both relate to “right” and “wrong” conduct
- The terms are often used interchangeably & they often mean the same thing, however;
- Morals refer to an individual’s own principles regarding right and wrong
- Ethics refer to the series of rules provided to an individual by an external source
Describe Morals
- Shared understanding of beliefs
- Feel that the right decision has been made
- Developed to provide a high quality of life for an individual or community
- Based on assumptions accepted by most members of the group
Describe Morality
- Personal morality that is shared with others is societal morality
- Beliefs from religion, philosophy, about relationships between people and the world
- Prevent harm to society
- Can be formalised into laws, customs & policies
- Tension can exist between personal and societal morality
- E.g. abortion, euthanasia, mining, logging, asylum seekers
Describe Ethics
Principles available to an individual from an external source that sets expectations for behaviour of the members of that profession
Describe Ethics: Morals
- A moral precept is an idea or opinion that’s driven by a desire to be good
- An ethical code is a set of rules that defines allowable actions or correct behaviour
A moral action can also be an unethical one:
*A lawyer who tells the court that a client is guilty may be acting out of a moral desire to see justice done, but this is unethical because it violates the attorney-client privilege
Legal Aspects of Morality & Ethics
- Laws embody and ‘codify’ moral values
- Professional issues
- Licensing
- Informed consent
- Confidentiality
- Competence
- Laws and ethical codes have different, and specific functions
Questions for Moral, Ethical, or Illegal
- What is the actual ethical dilemma?
- What unprofessional behaviour occurred
- Which Laws, Standards & Codes of Ethics apply, and which have been breached?
- What are the potential consequences for other competitors
- What are the potential consequences for society/the sport
- What steps can other competitors take to avoid this occurring in the future?
What are the 6 Step Process for Ethical Decision Making?
- Gather relevant information
- Identify the type of ethical problem
- Analyse the problem using ethics
- Explore the practical alternatives creatively
- Complete the Action
- Evaluate the process and outcome
Describe the first process of 6 Step Process for Ethical Decision Making
- Gather relevant information
- Don’t jump to conclusions
- Ask: who, what, where, when, how, and why
- Assemble as many facts as possible before proceeding
Describe the second process of 6 Step Process for Ethical Decision Making
- Identify the type of ethical problem
- (e.g. moral distress, ethical dilemma, locus of authority problem)
Moral (ethical) distress
- A person knows what they want to do, but is unable to execute a planned course of action due to a barrier
- Type A moral distress: a person knows the right thing to do, but feels powerless to take that action because of imposed constraints
- Type B moral distress: a person knows the course of action they want to take, but cannot identify with certainty the barrier that restricts the course of action
Ethical dilemma
- A person realises there are two or more acceptable, but mutually exclusive courses of action that may be taken
Locus of authority problem
- HCP decides who should have the authority to make the moral decision or resolve ethical issues
Describe the third process of 6 Step Process for Ethical Decision Making
- Analyse the problem using ethics
- (e.g. deontology, teleology)
Ethical reasoning
- To recognise, analyse and clarify ethical problems
- Helps HCPs make decisions regarding the right thing to do in a particular case
- The moral basis for professional behaviours and actions
- Focus on what should be done for the patient
Ethics principles
- Are moral guidelines for a course of action that will result in an outcome consistent with a caring response
Ethics theories
- Two key ethical theories describe many of the moral issues HCPs face:
1. The ‘deontological’ theory has an emphasis on duty & rights of people, and is a system that holds the means, as opposed to the ends, to be of greatest importance
2. In contrast, ‘teleological’ theory (for e.g. utilitarianism) is driven by goals, and places the greatest emphasis on the ends
Describe the ethics theories
Deontology:
- In Greek, deon means ‘duty’
- The morality of an action depends on the nature of that action
- Some things are always wrong
- Professions Codes of Ethics / Codes of Conduct
- Introduced by Immanuel Kant
For HCPs the morally correct thing to do is guided by duty to:
- Avoid harming a patient
- Respect the patient rights to confidentiality
- Act in the best interests of the patient at all times
Teleology theory
Utilitarianism
- Decisions are made that provide the greatest amount of benefit for the greatest number of individuals
- Choose the course of action which produces as much good for as many people as possible in the circumstances
- Where a person is prepared both to break moral rules and to violate rights if he/she can be certain that the welfare of the community will be bettered
Define Deontological Ethics
Duties and obligations are of prime importance
(e.g. the end/outcomes may not justify the means)
Define Utilitarian Ethics
The outcomes justify how the result was achieved (the end results justify the means)
Describe the fourth process of 6 Step Process for Ethical Decision Making
- Explore the practical alternatives creatively
- Confer with others
- Brainstorm
o Who will benefit?
o Who would be hurt?
- Be creative to develop new practical options
- Consider the widest range of possible options
