The Four Ethical Theories In Health Care

Ethical principles in the healthcare settings are formed to set specific values, morals and beliefs to the medical practice. The four most common ethical principles are autonomy, beneficence, justice and nonmaleficence (Health Care Ethics, 2011). Autonomy is to honor the patients right to make their own decisions. Beneficence is to help the patient advance his/her own good. Justice is to be fair and treat like cases alike. Nonmaleficence: is to do no harm.

Health care ethics is not only limited to factors that directly give rise to ethical issues such as not respecting a patient’s autonomy, and the beliefs and values of persons directly affected by decisions on the treatment of a patient. Ethical dilemmas are also posed by factors considered as indirect yet, very influential on health care ethics and can bring about a major ethical challenge. These indirect factors are considered to be external factors that influence health care ethics. These external factors can emanate from a sector such as the economy within which, is a great influence from market forces such as

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

In this diverse society we are confronted everyday with so many ethical choices in provision of healthcare for individuals. It becomes very difficult to find a guideline that would include a border perspective which might include individual’s beliefs and preference across the world. Due to these controversies, the four principles in biomedical ethic which includes autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice help us understand and explain which medical practices are ethical and acceptable. These principles are not only used to protect the rights of a patient but also the physician from being violated.

The principles of healthcare ethics are Autonomy: the patient 's right to choose, Beneficence: doing good, Nonmaleficence: do no harm, Confidentiality: protection of information, Veracity: telling the truth, Justice:

In this essay I am going to discuss. The philosophies, relationships. Current legislation, models of partnerships. The differences practices and policies add to care.

In this essay I will be discussing and exploring the four biomedical principles of nursing which refer to: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice. Specifically looking at autonomy I will further discuss and explain why I have chosen this principle, its value to good nursing practice and demonstrate its relation to mental health nursing, specifically dementia. Following this I will adhere to the conflicts that may impede its implementation in practice with autonomy, address the legal and professional obligations as a nurse in relation to autonomy and finally, provide a conclusion to summarise my aspirations and acknowledgment of the four biomedical ethics.

In order to ascertain the merit of managed health care, ethical presuppositions guiding our health care system require consideration. In the United States, four main principles undergird the way health care is practiced. These principles are: beneficence, nommaleficence, autonomy and justice. Beneficence is the obligation of health care providers to render help to people in need. Just as health care workers are called to provide care, they also have a duty to do no harm. This principle is commonly called nonmaleficence. At times, the possibility of doing good may result in injury. Therefore, the principle of beneficence and nonmaleficence do not always concur. Thirdly, the principle of autonomy allows patients to make choices regarding their health care. In other words, health care providers should allow patients to make the final decision regarding their treatment plan. Finally, justice refers to the ethical concept of treating everyone in a

THE CASE OF MRS. STACK1Week 5 The Case of Mrs. StackDaniel J. HildebrandtMHE 607 – Practical Ethics in Health Care SettingsCreighton Graduate SchoolJuly 26, 2016

Autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice are most widely known and utilized ethical principles. Guido, (2014),described autonomy as encompassing self-determination or the ability to access information important to decision making, or following one’s own values, and the freedom to choose a course of action free of coercion, and to be in control of ,and be responsible for one’s actions

In health care, a foundation in ethics is very important because people such as, patients, families, and healthcare professionals face difficult decisions, in particular medical treatments, which involve moral principles, religious beliefs, and professional standards (Purtilo & Doherty, 2015). Doctors aren’t the only ones in the healthcare field upholding ethical standards like the Hippocratic oath; health care administrators also “play an important role in facilitating decisions about patient care, particularly when the situation is one that might contain moral and ethical dilemmas” (Saint Joseph’s University, 2016, para. 10). Recent issues have made having a foundation in ethics is very important such as genetic testing prior to birth or end-of-life care. Practicing and making ethical decisions is a double edge sword; not everyone is going to agree with the decisions made. I believe that someone can still be a good person when making ethical decisions, but they shouldn’t let it play a big factor when deciding what’s best for the patient. At the end of the day when making tough medical decisions, we have to ask ourselves what’s best for the patient because that’s really who the decision is affecting.

Ethics is relevant to the field of healthcare just as it is to other professional disciplines. Contentious issues such as euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, the body as a commodity, whether pedophiles should be punished or treated, and the brain death controversy call for high levels of soberness in professional judgement. According to Ekland-Olson, the sociological and clinical process is crucial in devising a moral ground for decision-making (111). The historical and medical perspectives of these issues can assist in shaping ethical decision-making. Healthcare practitioners are continually facing ethical dilemmas concerning a broad set of issues that arise in the clinical setting. For this reason, it is essential for them to define their set of moral beliefs that could enable them to know when and how to change their positions whenever they encounter tough dilemmas. Defining a set of beliefs requires viewing controversial issues from a variety of perspectives (Ekland-Olson 116). The paper seeks to deliberate the controversy surrounding pedophilia; in other words, whether the issues should be considered as a punishment for crime or treated as a psychological problem. Finally, the paper elucidates on ethical and social issues concerning the brain death, the body as a commodity, euthanasia, and physician-assisted death. Ethics forms a significant aspect of healthcare service delivery because health specialists are always making life-threatening decisions in

Health care ethics is not only limited to factors that directly give rise to ethical issues such as not respecting a patient’s autonomy, and the beliefs and values of persons directly affected by decisions on the treatment of a patient. Ethical dilemmas are also posed by factors considered as indirect yet, very influential on health care ethics and can bring about a major ethical challenge. These indirect factors are considered to be external factors that influence health care ethics. These external factors can emanate from a sector such as the economy within which, is a great influence from market forces such as

The depressed patient can't make his own decisions simply because depression is a serious mental disorder (as the physician addressed). Since Alfred is having depression and stopped the treatment before the effect of the medicine can be seen, his decision is incompetent. A useful way to evaluate such an impact of depression is to let the spouse take the decision for the patient based on his wishes past when he was clearly not depressed, and the family should respect the autonomy of the patient when he was competent. Since the wife is stressed and can't make the decision. We, as a committee, decided to hear from her about her husband's past life and assume the best decision for him. She recalled to us that her husband

Ethics in Nursing Mary W. Gillam State College of Florida Nurses are often faced with situations that concern what is right and what is wrong. Ethics is the combination of principles and philosophies that are concerned with right versus wrong. It is important for the professional nurse to understand ethics and how to make an ethical decision. Nursing ethics is based on six ethical principles, three ethical philosophies and the help of a bioethics committee that the nurse uses to effectively carry out daily patient care.