Women and Ethics in Medicine: Historical Perspective and Contemporary Concern

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Madhu Nagla
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Informed Consent ◽  
Medical Ethics ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
Sex Selection ◽  
Health Care Ethics ◽  
Moral Code

The purpose of this paper is to provide an historical overview of the developments in the field of ethics concerning medicine and health. The discourse also focuses on morals and ethics. We summarize major principles around which much of ethics debates concerning medical and health care have been organized. Following this our paper connects the medical ethics in India with the contemporary concern. The present paper is divided into two parts. The first part attempts to discuss historical development of medical ethics at global level. In particular, western philosophy has been profoundly shaped by three theories of ethics: Aristotelianism, deontology and utilitarianism. Each of these three theories can in turn be seen as essentially a product of the times in which it was originally born. The medical ethics have come a long way and still a continuing process. Ethical discourse is generated out of and applied in local worlds, however, so that it gets taken up in moral processes that are inseparable from local elations and conditions. The discourse of ethics and moral concludes that they are inseparable from local relations and conditions and at the same times aspires for trans-local perspective. Importantly, the four principles of ethics i.e. , autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice) are prima facie and binding for each individual to follow. In the second part of paper, an effort has also been made to discuss the historical aspects of medical ethics in India. Medical ethics are not merely a moral code but a legally sanctioned code of conduct acceptable and normal within the medical profession. A broad range of issues can be covered under the rubric of ethical issues, however, specific concerns related to the globalization, equity in health, technology and ethics, informed consent, emergency and health care and reproduction are the major concern of ethics. The ideas enshrined in the doctrine of informed consent though not legally binding yet, continue to percolate into the medical and lay discourse. The doctrine of informed consent is complicated and needs to be addressed in socio-cultural and other constraints of the society. Advances in bio-sciences and bio-technology, such as surrogacy, sex selection, genetics etc. widened the scope of medical ethics. Ethics are the bridge between health policy and values. Health policy is related with the equity and justice to its people in receiving the health care, and thus medical ethics examines the moral validity of it. There is a need to develop an ethical culture in society. Ethics, equity and respect for humanity must be incorporated in all aspects of health care. Ethics has to be institutionalized wherever it is needed. Given the events of the last decades it is a sad reality that at least in the Indian health care set up ethics are losing their sight and has been moving towards commercialization than science and healing.

Patient Protection and Paternalism in Psychotherapy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Annoni
Keyword(s):  
Informed Consent ◽  
Medical Ethics ◽  
Therapeutic Relationship ◽  
Patient Autonomy ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
Involuntary Hospitalization ◽  
Patient Protection ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
Paternalistic Intervention

This chapter provides a synthetic overview of the ethics of paternalism in psychotherapy with a focus on involuntary hospitalization to protect patients from self-harm. Paternalism entails the intentional overriding of someone’s preferences or actions on grounds of beneficence and nonmaleficence. After the emergence of autonomy in medical ethics, paternalism is generally considered prima facie wrong, as it infringes on patient autonomy, trust, and right to informed consent. In particular, the use of paternalism in psychotherapy raises a host of complex and delicate ethical issues due to the nature of the therapeutic relationship and the difficulty to assess the autonomy of the person who will supposedly benefit from the paternalistic intervention.

scholarly journals Undocumented migrants’ right to health care: Physicians’ rejection of law in their gatekeeper roles

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
J T V Greenbrook
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Ethics ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
Healthcare Access ◽  
Right To Health ◽  
Legal Consciousness ◽  
Legal Knowledge ◽  
Undocumented Migrants ◽  
Right To Health Care

Abstract Background Legal consciousness theory acknowledges the known gap between law in writing and law in its everyday practical application in society. Limited research has explored legal consciousness in medical contexts, and limited knowledge exists surrounding how the intrusion of law in medical authority impacts applied medical ethics. Conflicts between law and medical ethics can be saliently observed in Sweden, where current law forcibly places physicians in a gatekeeper role in satisfying undocumented migrants' right to health care access, relying on physicians' assessments of whether patients without legal residency status should be provided 'care that cannot be deferred'. Methods In this context, the present phenomenological study sought to explore how legal terminology is experienced, understood, and applied by physicians, contextualising the perceived meaning ascribed to the imposed gatekeeper role. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 42 physicians from five major Swedish hospitals, and analysed through the lens of legal consciousness theory. Results Participants actively rejected law by taking a firm, and often collective, stance against its intrusion in their work. Rejection of law was constructed through: rejecting legal hegemony and government imposed non-medical responsibilities; perceiving professional authority and medical ethics as empowering; considering repercussions of legal non-compliance unthreatening; believing increased legal knowledge would not influence their professions' foundational role. Conclusions The study produced novel findings, contributing to the limited body of work exploring legal consciousness in medicine. Regardless of legal knowledge held, when law conflicted with foundational medical ethics, the intrusion of law in the medical profession lead to the explicit rejection of law. Findings accent the need for laws addressing healthcare access to be compatible with foundational medical ethics and principles of non-discrimination. Key messages Regardless of legal knowledge held, when law conflicted with foundational medical ethics, the intrusion of law in the medical profession lead to the explicit rejection of law. Findings accent the need for laws addressing healthcare access to be compatible with foundational medical ethics and principles of non-discrimination.

A review of the literature surrounding the provision of interpreters in health care, focusing on their role in translating information for non-English-speaking cancer patients and issues relating to informed consent

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 201-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niamh Gargan ◽  
Janette Chianese
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Informed Consent ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Fundamental Principle ◽  
Health Care Ethics ◽  
Equal Rights ◽  
Written Information ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Professional Interpreting

AbstractInformed consent is a fundamental principle of health care ethics. All patients should have equal opportunities in accessing information to help them make informed decisions about their treatments.Literature on informed consent, translators in health care, non-English-speaking patients and the importance of communication and information, most specifically in radiotherapy, were reviewed. Western studies published between 1995 and 2005 were accessed and filtered though two eligibility screens and a critique framework to assess quality.The evidence suggested that many non-English-speaking patients are not in a position to give true informed consent due to lack of interpreters. This may lead to health care professionals giving treatment without full consent. Written information for radiotherapy patients was often only available in English, apart from inner city areas.There appears to be a scarcity of professional interpreters used in the health care setting; the most common practice is to use family members and friends to interpret. This practice results in breach of patient confidentiality, extra pressure on family members and filtration of information.This patient group is often excluded from certain treatment opportunities such as clinical trials. Ideally, a fully accessible professional interpreting service should be available to allow non-English patients equal rights in accessing appropriate health care options and treatments.

Medical ethics

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Wikler
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Ethics ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Truth Telling ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Moral Uncertainty ◽  
Consent To Treatment ◽  
Protection Of Human Subjects ◽  
The Individual

Medical ethics was once concerned with the professional obligations of physicians, spelled out in codes of conduct such as the ancient Hippocratic oath and elaborated by contemporary professional societies. Today this subject is a broad, loosely defined collection of issues of morality and justice in health, health care and related fields. The term ‘bioethics’ is often used interchangeably, though it is also used with its original broad meaning, which included issues in ecology. The range of concerns grouped under ‘medical ethics’ begins with the relationship of doctor to patient, including such issues as consent to treatment, truth-telling, paternalism, confidentiality and the duty to treat. Particular moral uncertainty is engendered by contexts which demand divided allegiances of physicians, such as medical experimentation on human subjects, public health emergencies and for-profit medicine. Issues in medical ethics arise in every stage of life, from the fate of defective newborns to the withholding of life-sustaining therapies from the very old. Medical practices with patients who may not be competent to make their own medical decisions, including paediatrics and psychiatry, raise a distinctive set of ethical issues, as does medical genetics, which involves choices affecting family members, future individuals and offspring in utero. In recent years, medical ethics has broadened its focus beyond the individual physician or nurse to include the organization, operation and financing of the health care system as a whole, including difficult theoretical and practical uncertainties regarding the fair allocation of health care resources. Medical ethics is at once a field of scholarship and a reform movement. The latter has campaigned in many countries on behalf of patients’ rights, better care of the dying and freedom for women in reproductive decisions. As a field of scholarship, medical ethics addresses these and many other issues, but is not defined by positions taken on any of them. Though ethicists often favour an emphasis on informed consent, oppose paternalism, urge permission to end life-sustaining therapy (or choose suicide) and seek protection of human subjects of experimentation, a diversity of viewpoints finds expression in the medical ethics literature.

scholarly journals STUDENTS’ VIEWS ON THE ROLE OF ETHICS EDUCATION FOR THEIR FUTURE MEDICAL PRACTICE

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 87-91
Author(s):  
Nikoleta Leventi ◽  
Alexandrina Vodenitcharova ◽  
Kristina Popova ◽  
Kremena Ivanova ◽  
Svetlin Georgiev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical Ethics ◽  
Ethics Education ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Everyday Practice ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Medical Ethics Education

INTRODUCTION: Worldwide, in different ways, ethical dilemmas arise in medicine and life sciences. It is critical for medical professionals to respond with confidence when ethical challenges are addressed in their clinical practice. Medical ethics and bioethics education is recognized as an essential course of the medical curriculum. The course aims to provide students with knowledge and competencies on dealing with moral problems. OBJECTIVES: In this article, we aim to explore students’ views about the importance and role of medical ethics education for their future practice. Their suggestions on specific medical ethics and bioethics topics were also considered, as well as previous knowledge on ethics before they enrolled in university. METHODS: A paper questionnaire was developed and distributed among first-year foreign medical students from the Faculty of Medicine in the Medical University-Sofia in Bulgaria. All students participated in the study anonymously and voluntarily. The study was conducted during January and February 2020. RESULTS: Completed questionnaires were received from 366 medical students. Data collected demonstrates that only 19% of the students were taught ethics before enrolling in university and covered topics on philosophy and ethics, civil and human rights. The majority (92%) of the responders believe that the study of medical ethics and bioethics helps medical professionals to improve their skills in identifying ethical problems in their everyday practice. Interesting were the suggestions for topics in medical ethics and bioethics that needed further study during lectures and seminars and included principles of medical ethics and bioethics, ethical behavior in medicine and health care, ethical dimensions of new technologies in health care, ethical dimensions of clinical decisions and patients’ quality of life, ethics and health management. CONCLUSIONS: Medical ethics education is significant for future physicians, helping them to improve their skills in identifying ethical issues, and base their decisions on fundamental ethical principals in their everyday practice. Attention should be given to topics related to principles of medical ethics, models of patient-physician relationships, new technologies in health care, ethics and health policy. 

scholarly journals Team-Based Learning in Medical Ethics Education: Evaluation and Preferences of Students in Oman

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Simon
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medical Ethics ◽  
Ethics Education ◽  
Care Ethics ◽  
Assessment Instrument ◽  
Health Care Ethics ◽  
Medical Ethics Education ◽  
Team Based Learning ◽  
Ethics Course ◽  
The Impact

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of integrating team-based learning sessions in undergraduate medical ethics education. Though used effectively in other pre-clinical courses, team-based learning is not frequently used in medical ethics education. Student’s accountability for learning, preference for team-based learning, and satisfaction were studied. Methods: Three team-based learning sessions covering focal topics in medical ethics was introduced in the pre-clinical Health Care Ethics course for students at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, National University of Science and Technology. On the completion of three modules, the team-based learning student assessment instrument (TBL-SAI) by Heidi Mennenga was used to evaluate student perceptions. To this aim, 118 students who had registered for the Health Care Ethics course completed the survey. Results: The findings indicated that students reported a positive experience of team-based learning in medical ethics education. Students also indicated high accountability for their learning, a high preference for team-based learning to lectures in the medical ethics course, and high satisfaction. Conclusions: Team-based learning is thus preferred by students to cover topics and courses in medical ethics. Integrating team-based modules in medical ethics education will enhance self-directed learning, improve teamwork, and help students effectively recall and apply information. It is therefore recommended to integrate team-based learning sessions in medical ethics education.

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