Chapter 24 professional ethics for medical imaging personnel

Professional ethics includes

-Right to privacy and dignity

-Right to the truth

-Justice

-Beneficence

-Compassion and caring

-Honesty and loyalty

Laws

are regulations established by a government that are applicable to people within a certain political subdivision or geographic location

Morals

are generally accepted customs of right living and conduct and an individuals practice in relation to these customs

Societal behavior

is defined by laws, rules, regulation, ordinances and is governed by laws and morals

Professional behavior

is defined by standards of professional conduct and code of ethics

American Registry of Radiologic Technologist (ARRT) standards of ethics are composed of 2 parts

Part A: deals with behaviors a professional should aspire to achieve (Code of ethics)

Part B: deals with mandatory rules of acceptable professional conduct(Rules of ethics)

Professional etiquette

the manner and attitude generally accepted by members of a profession

Professional ethics

rules of conduct or standard beyond conformance to either law or etiquette, the internal controls of a profession based on human values or moral principles

Ethical outrage

unethical behavior that is clearly wrong and a gross violation of commonly held standards of decency or human rights

Ethical analysis consist of

1. identify the problem

2. develop alternative solutions

3. select the best solution

4. defend the selection

SBAR

situation, background, assessment, recommendation

Consequentialism

belief that the worth of actions is determined by their ends or consequences: actions are right or wrong according to the balance of their good and bad consequences

Nonconsequentialism

belief that actions themselves, rather than consequences, determine the worth of actions: actions are right or wrong according to the morality of the acts themselves

Social contract theory

attempts to descibe the relationship that exist when 2 mutually dependent persons or group of people in a society recognize certain expectation of each other and conduct their affairs accordingly

Rights-based ethics

belief that individual rights provide the vital protection of life, liberty, expression, and property

Principle-based ethics

use of moral principles as a basis for defending a chosen path of action in resolving an ethical dilemma(aka principlism)

Virtue-based ethics

theory that emphasizes the agents who perform actions and make choices: character and virtue form the framework of this ethical theory

Beneficence

perform actions that benefit others. decide and act always to benefit the pt

Nonmaleficence

above all do no harm. never perform acts that may harm the pt

Autonomy

perform actions that respect the independence of other persons. the pt must decide what is done to his or her person

Veracity

being truthful

Fidelity

performing acts that observe covenants or promises is right by being faithful

Justice

performing acts that ensure the fair distribution of goods and harm are right and to be fair