Healthcare Ethics - Vocabulary Flashcards
Chapter 1: Definition of Terms
- Ethics
- Derived from the Greek ethos meaning “character”.
- Refers to standards of behavior that tell us how humans ought to act in various roles (friends, parents, citizens, professionals, etc.).
- A branch of philosophy: systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct.
- The study of morality using tools/methods of philosophy.
- Biology
- The science that studies living organisms.
- Bioethics
- From bios (life) + ethikos (character, morals, to do good and avoid evil).
- Application of ethical principles to medicine and health care; ethics of life concerning biotechnology and medicine.
- Deals with relationships among practitioner, patient, and society; regulates provider–beneficiary relationships.
- Health Ethics
- Ethics concerned specifically with health and health care, including professional standards and societal responsibilities to health care needs.
- Professional Ethics
- Principles that govern behavior within a professional setting; ethical standards for a profession.
- Prevalence of bioethical issues (highlights of topics frequently encountered):
- Abortion
- Euthanasia
- Suicide
- Determination of Death
- In-vitro fertilization
- Stem Cell Technology
Chapter 2: The Human Person
- The personhood
- The distinction: Human Acts vs Acts of Man
- The components of human acts:
- a. Knowledge
- b. Freedom
- c. Conscience
Page 5–6: What is Ethics?
- Ethics definition
- The study of morality using philosophical methods.
- Ethics concerns how humans ought to act in various roles and situations.
- Morality vs Philosophy
- Morality: set of beliefs about right/wrong and good/bad persons or character.
- Philosophy: discipline that uses critical reasoning and reflection to examine life’s big questions.
Page 7: What Ethics Seeks to Know
- Key questions ethicists ask:
- o Whether an action is right or wrong
- o What moral standards should guide conduct
- o Whether moral principles can be justified
- o What moral values are worth cultivating and why
- o What ultimate ends people should pursue in life
- o Whether there are good reasons for accepting a particular moral theory
- o What the meaning is of terms like right, wrong, good, and bad
Page 8: Bioethics
- Bioethics origin and scope
- Bios (life) + ethikos (character, morals) → Ethics of life.
- Applies ethical principles to life sciences, biotechnology, and medicine.
- Concerns relationships among practitioner–patient, practitioner–society, and society–patient.
- Regulates the relationship between health care providers and beneficiaries.
Page 9: Important Precedents in the History of Bioethics
- The Nuremberg Code (1947) 1947
- Emerged from Nazi experimentation and the Doctors Trial.
- The Belmont Report
- Summarizes ethical principles/guidelines for research involving human subjects.
- Core principles: respect for persons, beneficence, justice.
- Based on investigation of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932–1972) 1932-1972.
- Provided analytical framework to guide ethical problems in human subjects research.
Page 10: Declaration of Human Rights
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the UN General Assembly on 1948-12-10.
- Article 3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
- Article 6: Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Page 11: Health Care Ethics and Current Issues
- Health care ethics concerns the moral nature of health/health care, standards/goals of health care professions, and community responsibilities to provide care.
- Current ethical issues in health care:
- Balancing equity with efficiency (access to health).
- Differences in health status.
- Aging population: access to care, elder abuse/neglect.
- End-of-life issues: assisted suicide & euthanasia.
- Beginning-of-life issues: care under 24 weeks of gestation, genetic engineering, surrogacy.
- Allocation of donated organs & life-support (life organ donation).
- Research in health care: health vs. knowledge.
Page 12: Ethical Principles in Health Care
- Beneficence: to act for the good/benefit of others.
- Non-maleficence: to do no harm to others.
- Respect for patient autonomy: acknowledging self-determination (includes privacy, confidentiality, veracity/truthfulness).
- Justice: fairness in distribution and treatment.
Page 13: Professional Ethics
- Definition: Principles governing behavior of individuals/groups in professional settings.
- Rationale: Because moral judgments differ, professional ethics establish standards specific to a profession.
Page 14: Hippocratic Oath and The Nightingale Pledge
- Hippocratic Oath (classic version) highlights:
- Apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to ability and judgment; avoid harm and injustice.
- Do not give deadly drugs or abortive remedies; safeguard life and art.
- Practice purity and holiness; guard life and art.
- The Nightingale Pledge:
- Commit to purity, fidelity to profession, avoid harmful drugs, maintain standard of practice, keep confidences, and work for the welfare of those in care; support physicians and devote to patient welfare.
Page 15: Ethical Codes
- Definition: Systematic guidelines for shaping ethical behaviors; answer normative questions about what beliefs/values are morally acceptable.
- Characteristics:
- Formal statement of a group’s ideals/values.
- Shared by group members.
- Reflects moral judgments over time.
- Serves as a standard for professional actions.
Page 16: Code of Ethics for Nurses in the Philippines
- Purpose: Guide for nursing responsibilities; address difficult issues and decisions; clarify what actions are ethical.
- Promulgation/Authority: Code promulgated by the Board of Nursing (BON); consulted with accredited organizations (e.g., Philippine Nurses Association).
- Alignment: Coincides with Republic Act No. 9173 (Philippine Nursing Act of 2002).
- History: Adopted after consultation on October 23, 2013 in Iloilo City; new Code of Ethics under RA 9173.
Page 17: Purposes of the Nursing Code of Ethics
- Inform the public about minimum standards of the profession and clarify professional nursing conduct.
- Demonstrate the profession’s commitment to public service.
- Outline the major ethical considerations of the profession.
Page 18: Prevalence of Bioethical Issues – Ethical Dilemmas
- Ethical dilemma (paradox): a decision-making problem between two competing moral imperatives, neither clearly preferable.
- Examples of ethical dilemmas:
- Abortion
- Euthanasia
- Suicide
- Determination of Death
- In-vitro fertilization
- Stem Cell Technology
Page 19: Intended Learning Outcomes (Chapter: The Human Person)
- 1. Explain the nature of man and his dignity.
- 2. Explain the concept of freedom of man and of his human action.
- 3. Differentiate human acts and acts of man.
- 4. Explain the morality of Human Acts.
- 5. Determine the moral determinants of human acts.
Page 20: The Will and Knowledge
- To will something, one must know beforehand; a person cannot choose or act unless they know what is a “better” good.
- When a person chooses to act according to what they know is right, they act freely.
- Only humans are capable of acting freely – HUMAN ACTS.
- The intellect does not always determine the will.
Page 21: When is an Act Freely Done?
- Under the control of the WILL: the power to choose, adhere to, and take pleasure in a GOOD KNOWN BY THE INTELLECT (voluntary).
- We do things because we want to; we own the decision or action.
- We face the consequences of our actions with full responsibility.
- Diagrammatic idea often summarized as:
- Intellect → Knowing the truth.
- Will → Choosing the good.
- Soul/Body interplay in decision making.
Page 22–23: Human Acts vs Acts of Man – Essential Qualities
- Man is accountable because he is conscious of what he is doing, why, and how.
- Human Acts vs Acts of Man:
- Human acts: actions done consciously and freely by the agent.
- Acts of Man: acted without freedom or consciousness (e.g., spontaneous, reflex, or coerced actions).
- Essential qualities/constituent elements of Human Acts:
- 1. Knowledge of the act
- 2. Freedom
- 3. Voluntariness
Page 24: Acts Not Morally Accountable
- Acts performed when the will is not intervening: e.g., asleep, hypnosis; reflex actions; actions under serious physical violence (e.g., a hostage).
- Such acts are not moral acts and cannot be morally evaluated.
What is Morality?
- From the Greek word MORES – behavior.
- Refers to the sense of rightness or wrongness of an act.
- The morality of an act depends on norms that may be inherent in the act or observed due to individual or social conventions.
- Source attribution: Manlangit (author/teacher reference).
Page 25: The Basis of Morality
- A moral act depends on whether there is consent by the will.
- HUMAN ACTS include: 1) Thought 2) Speech 3) Action.
- Foundation of Morality:
- There is an objective moral law known by the intellect – NATURAL MORAL LAW.
- Some actions are intrinsically evil – not justifiable regardless of circumstance.
Page 26: Scope of Morality
- All Human acts are subjected to morality.
- Human acts differ from animal acts because humans act toward an end; life has a purpose.
- Morality and Human Acts:
- Human acts are freely chosen in consequence of a judgment of conscience.
- They are either good or evil.
- Their morality depends on the object chosen, the intention, and the circumstances.
Page 27: Moral Determinants of Human Acts
- HUMAN ACTS are neutral in themselves but acquire morality when considering:
- 1. OBJECT OF THE ACT
- 2. CIRCUMSTANCE
- 3. INTENTION
- OBJECT OF THE ACT
- Substance/nature of the action; the good toward which the will directs itself.
- An act is good when it is in accord with reason or fulfills the demands of reason; otherwise, the object is evil.
Page 28: INTENTION / END IN VIEW
- Motive: factor in which the agent acts; can be morally good or evil.
- Purpose for which an act is performed; concerned with the goal of the activity.
- It aims at the good anticipated from the action undertaken.
- A good intention does not make an intrinsically disordered act right; the end does not justify the means.
Page 29: CIRCUMSTANCE
- Circumstances are events/conditions that make the act concrete.
- They can modify the moral goodness or evilness of the act and the agent’s responsibility.
- They can lighten or aggravate moral accountability.
- Circumstances do not change the specific nature of the human act.
Page 30: What Makes a Morally Good or Bad Act?
- 1. Goodness of the object, the end or intention, and the circumstance together, including any consequences.
- 2. An evil end or intention corrupts the action even if the object is good.
- 3. Avoid concrete acts that are always wrong to choose – object of the act.
- 4. Acts which, in and of themselves, are always gravely illicit by reason of their object.
- Note: Do not judge morality based solely on intention or solely on circumstance.
Page 31: Closing
