Five Principles Of Principlism

Ethics is a strongly culturally linked area of philosophy interrelated with what is considered acceptable human conduct. There are two branches of ethics; medical ethics and bioethics. The moral conduct and principles which govern practices of medical and health professionals falls under medical ethics, whereas in biomedicine and the health sciences theorised developments in the study of social and moral issues is considered bioethics(1). There are two philosophical principles within the conduction of health care research these are deontology and utilitarianism. Deontology is an approach to ethics that focuses on the rightness or wrongness of actions themselves, as opposed to the rightness or wrongness of the consequences of those actions (2). Utilitarianism states that the most benefit

Working in the field as health care professionals, we are faced with ethical dilemmas almost always. Although each individual posses different values, there are specific codes of conduct to abide by, despite personal beliefs. Without the use of a structural code, individuals in the health care field would make decisions based on their own personal beliefs in accordance to their culture and religion. In the case of Marion and the pacemaker, we witness the desires of the patient at hand, Marion, and her family, be interrogated by the floor nurses. Although the intent behind the actions of the floor nurses can be described as morally just, thinking they are helping preserve the life of Marion, based on medical ethics, their behavior is of some degree to be questioned. This paper will focus on the boundaries we witness crossed by floor nurses and how they go against the medical ethics approved, and what effects they have on patients and their care givers.

There are four principles of ethics: Respect for autonomy, Beneficence, Non maleficence and Justice. This four principles offers comprehensive thought of the ethical issues in clinical settings (Beauchamp and Childress 2001 cited in UK Clinical ethics Network 2011).

The dilemma that goes before the ethics committee is that Margie Whitson, age 95, wishes to have her pacemaker deactivated and her physician declined her request based on ethical concerns. By deactivating the pacemaker, the physician feels that patient would not survive. Mrs. Whitson’s physician, Dr. Vijay, is concerned that the deactivation of the pacemaker would be in conflict with the code of conduct and code of ethics as set forth by the American Medical Association, and his moral commitment to the welfare and livelihood of the patient. Therefore, the conflict arises as to whether or not the patient should have the pacemaker deactivate so that she can end her quantity of life and would this action be morally

These principles have become widely used frameworks for ethical both in healthcare practice and also in clinical research. A few brief definitions; beneficence refers to the balancing of benefits of a treatment against the risks and acting in the way that most benefits the patient. Nonmaleficence is the avoidance of excessive harm. All treatments will have some risks and harm however minimal, the principle of nonmaleficence requires that the harm should not be disproportionate to the benefits of the treatment. Respect for patient autonomy is just as it states, that the patient should be respected as someone who can make reasoned, informed decisions of their own free will. Lastly, the principle of justice simply requires that risks and benefits be distributed fairly and that patients in similar situations should get similar treatments from their healthcare professionals. In another article, Macklin criticizes the four principles for not providing a useful way of solving bioethical issues, rather she believes that they provide a “sound and useful way of analysing moral dilemmas” (Macklin, 2003). I am inclined to agree with Macklin here, because it appears that

As a result, this challenges the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence and nonmaleficence. At some point in our lives, we will be a patient in one way or another. As patients, we have the legal right to decide what’s in our best interest when it comes to the management of our health. The concept of autonomy is centered on the idea of self-governance. This means that patients have the right to play an active role in their treatment and medical care plan and have the right to receive or refuse treatment, the right to confidentiality, the right to select a healthcare proxy and the right for informed consent.

In 1870, the idea of using medicine to end a person's life of anguish, was discussed widely in the physician community due to Samuel D. William's book, "Journal of the American Medical Association." His speech and the book were found beneficial in the discussion of whether P.A.S was ethical. A wide range of doctors became advocates soon after (Friend, 2011.)

At the start of this this course, I did not think much of how bioethics and legal medicine were connected. Week after week I am beginning to understand how important it is to evolve into a society with guidelines to better serve not only physicians but, all patients as well. In “Medical and Ethical Encounters” by John R. Carlisle, he enlightens us on how in actuality, good practice in law and medicine, is the gateway to superior health care in the united states. In the mid-1970s Beauchamp and Childress formulated a statement known as “the four principles of bioethics. Autonomy of a person to have his say respected by the physician is vital. Beneficence, to always promote health and wellbeing ultimately with an outcome of good over bad. Nonmalfeasance

Research has always been an important aspect in developing any type of advanced healthcare system. Nevertheless, the use of humans makes these studies controversial. The controversy is over how every time human specimens are used their rights were not correctly protected, which caused their bodies to be mutilated. This misconduct is present in both the case dealing with Henrietta Lacks and the men that participated in the Tuskegee syphilis trials. When studies similar to these become public society being to have a scud view of research studies as well as healthcare overall. Resulting from this nurses need to practice proper ethics when working on their patients.

The situation in which one can observed unethical behavior would be in a hospital facility, where the wife of a spouse would have the sole priority in the decision making process. Actually, this situation was a dilemma that had happened to the researcher family, where she felt that she was being deprived of her rights to know about her brother’s situation at the hospice care. His wife was in charge when his life started to deteriorate and eventually was put on life support. According to English, Romano-Critchley, and Sommerville (2001), examined the human rights to “moral and legal differences between non treatment and intentionally hastening death of patient” (p. 413) has been an ethical topic for the past few years. The studied have reported

In order for ethical principlism to become a practical and integral way of making pain management decisions, the nursing culture must embrace it as a matter of course. The conscious use of basic ethical principles can help nurses to see their own biases clearly and make evidence-based decisions that provide optimal pain treatment for every patient. Referring to ethical principles may also help the nurse advocate for the patient’s pain relief needs when talking to physicians who may also have their own biases in pain treatment.

This edition consists of nine chapters divided into three parts, as well as an appendix of ten biomedical ethics cases. In Part I, chapter 1, entitled "Moral Norms," introduces the decision-making framework with attention to specifying and balancing principles and rules for moral deliberation and decision-making. Chapter 2, entitled "Moral Character," elaborates on moral virtues and ideals as an often-neglected area in biomedical ethics. In Part II, chapters 3 through 6 present the four basic groups of principles, and chapter 7, "Professional-Patient Relationships," examines the moral rules of veracity,

The ethical principles that classically inform a bioethical analysis are autonomy (respecting the privacy and self-de- termination of the individual), beneficence (providing ben- efits and balancing risks or burdens against those benefits), nonmaleficence (avoiding harm), and justice (fairly distrib- uting the risk, burdens, and benefits).30 Pain and its relief implicate especially autonomy and beneficence, and dis- cussions of pain management and informed consent high- light the tension between the two principles.

Autonomy is one of the four principles of bioethics. Autonomy and morality are tied together, more so they create the basis for decision making in our healthcare arena. Morality relates to doing good or what is good including dignity, whereas autonomy is the self-governance of oneself and the ability to determine what is best for themselves. Together they create a tug-a-war in practice as humans attempt to balance goodness and self governance as applied to medical practices, decision, and informed consent. Respect for other people is defined as being aware of their ability to make decisions about their own health and circumstances. It also includes protecting those who have a decreased ability to make decisions due to decreased mental cognition. Under respect for other people, all individuals must follow the moral rule to recognize autonomy and to act on their responsibility of protecting those with decreased autonomy. The Autonomy Principle comes with the acknowledgment that everyone has the ability to make their own decisions and that those around them have an obligation to respect those decisions.

There are five basic principles of bioethics. The first is Beneficence this is the duty to act to promote the good for others (Halter, 2014). The example for this is if there is an order for a medication that is much higher than the normal dosage the nurse takes the time to call the doctor to check if the dosage is correct to keep the patient safe. Autonomy is respecting the rights of patients to make their own decisions (Halter, 2014). An example of this is the patient refuses to take their morning medication by choice. Justice is the duty to treat all patients the same regardless of personal attributes (Halter, 2014). An example of this is treating a patient with cancer the same as a patient with the flu. Fidelity or nonmaleficence is maintaining loyalty and commitment to the patient and doing no wrong to the patient. Keeping a promise to a patient. Veracity is the duty to communicate truthfully to the patient (Halter, 2014). This would be telling the patient the side effect of a certain drug is going to make them drowsy instead of saying this medication will make you feel great.