What is ethics?
- Ethics: the study of what is morally right and what is morally wrong (based on a critical approach and rational argument)
- Medical ethics: the values, moral conduct and principles that govern the practice of medicine
- Deals with ethical dilemmas and issues in healthcare and healthcare settings
- Concerned with what healthcare professionals ought to do and their ability to explain reasons for their decisions and actions
- Professional ethics: the ethical norms, values and principles that guide professional conduct
- Doctors rights and duties
- Patient’s rights and duties
- Doctors actions in the care of patients and in relations with their families
4 ethical principles
- Autonomy: respect for person's free will and capacity for independent decision-making
- Beneficence: balance of benefits of treatment against risks and cost - acting for the good of others
- Maleficence: do no harm
- Justice and equity: fair distribution of benefits, risks and costs, fair resource allocation, social justice
Main ethical theories
Deontology
- Associated with Kant (German philosopher)
- Key question: 'is the act right or wrong in itself?'
- Values of rationality, free will, autonomy, duty, dignity
- In terms of medical practice, this covers e.g. a patient's right to refuse treatment
Consequentialism
- Associated with Bentham and Mill (British philosophers)
- Whether some action is right or wrong depends on the consequences
Utilitarianism
- Associated with Bentham and Mill (British philosophers)