principles of medical ethics

principles of medical ethics

In health care institutions, different ethical issues face both major and minor institutions. There is an ethical dilemma that has faced the Hopewell hospital. When doctor Cutrite was performing surgery to Mrs. Jameson, he left a needle protector in her belly. In this ethical problem, some people are involved in this issue. These people are the doctor himself, the supervisor of the surgery room, and the director of Hopewell hospital. The patient is also involved in this problem since she is the one who will suffer health-wise.

In such an ethical dilemma, some medical ethics principles can be used to solve such a situation. These principles can also be used to provide the best guidance on how to provide moral duties within the healthcare institutions. The first principle of medical ethics is respect for autonomy. It explains that the patient must have the autonomy of thoughts, intentions, and actions when he decides his health care procedures. In this principle of autonomy, the patients are advised to know the risks and benefits of the processes that are to be undertaken by the doctor before making his final decision. For example, the patient in our case study Mrs. Jameson, whose needle protector was left in her belly, for the doctors to follow the principle of autonomy, they are supposed to inform the patient about the issue and its consequences to her body. The patient is the one who has permission to make her decision.

The second principle of medical ethics is Non-Maleficence. It is the best-known principle, among others.

This principle means” to do no harm.”

In this principle, it is known to be the end goal for all the practitioner’s decisions. Through the policy of Non-Maleficence, the physicians must consider whether other people of the society will be affected by the judgment which they make, even if the decision is made for the benefit of an individual patient. This principle can be applied in our case study, where the doctors had the entire mandate to decide whether to inform the patient about the needle protector in her belly. As we all know, doctor Cutrite had no intention of harming the patient. He never left that needle protector intentionally in the patient’s stomach. When the director of Hopewell hospital informed the chief of surgery about the issue, he said that the needle protector would cause some discomfort, but it cannot harm the patient. But he added, they cannot know whether it can cause a problem to the patient or not. So, according to this principle, it is essential for doctor Cutrite, and his managers to inform the patient about the ethical dilemma and do another operation to remove the needle protector for them to be sure that the patient will be free from any harm.

The next principle of medical ethics is beneficence. This principle states that all doctors can do as best as they can to save the patient in either way. The procedures and treatment that doctors give to their patients should be of good intention and be of help to the patient’s health. For the doctors to practice the principle of beneficence, they should make sure that they develop and maintain a high level of skills and knowledge of their professionalism to their patients. They should also make sure they are well trained for the most current medical practices and consider their patient’s circumstances.

In our case study, doctor Cutrite should always be advised to be careful and keen when doing his duties as a doctor.

He is required to provide all the knowledge and skills which he was taught during his course. When doing any operations, surgeons should ensure they have the entire syringes which were used during the procedure.

The last principle of medical ethics is justice. This principle states that there should be fairness between all medical practitioners and the patients. The fairness should be in a way that, in a medical institution, there is an equal distribution of scarce resources and new treatments. The doctors should maintain applicable laws and legislation when making choices. According to our case study, for the hospital of Hopewell to practice this principle of justice, the director of Hopewell hospital should address all the medical providers of that hospital always to give equal treatment to all patients with fairness.

Ethical decision making is required when the executives of the health care institutions need to address any conflict relating to organizational and societal values. When these healthcare executives are making any decision, they should not make such decisions alone; instead, they are supposed to involve ethics committees, ethics consultation services, or written policies to help them with the process of making decisions.

In our case study, the director of Hopewell hospital should address the ethical dilemma which happened in his institution in a sage way. He should not make his final decision alone, but he is supposed to consult the ethics committee about the issue. While making his decision, he must also apply the components model of ethical decision making, which will help him to make the right decision. One of the models which the director needed in the decision-making process is moral awareness, which helps to detect and appreciate the ethical aspects of a decision that is to be made. The director also needed to have a moral judgment, which is used to evaluate situations that caused the issue and the person who created it. The third model is moral intent, which is the desire to act ethically when facing any decision and overcome the rationalization of not acting ethically this time round. The last model which the director required to have is ethical behavior, which would help him to make decisions that would make the other physicians and the society feel that he has made the right decision.