Among the many topics that I present to live audiences, ethics in one of my favorite and for many reasons. Many licensed healthcare professionals have to take so many hours in ethics annually, so I know people will show up! The audience sometimes tells me, “I need ethics hours, and I hope it’s not boring!” Well, none of my presentations are boring, but I find ethics to be one of the most exciting, interesting and debatable topic areas in health care today. We all know that ethics is the study of what is right or wrong and how to make better decisions that benefit our patients, clients or residents in long-term care. And this is why I find it interesting – what exactly is right or wrong? Who makes these decisions for others? Do our values, principles, and ethical compass change over time? How many things can go wrong in health care? See what I mean?
Healthcare Ethics
There are a variety of different definitions of healthcare ethics, but for this short article, I’d like to keep it simple. Ethics are codes of conduct that represent the ideal way to think, behave and speak about people or situations. They are the do’s and don’ts of health care. Ethics are also deeply rooted in both culture and society. We, as healthcare professionals, are living and breathing agents of ethics. Another way to look at ethics is to refer to the term “Golden Rule” – do unto others and you would like done to you.
(NOTE: Interested in learning more about Ethics in health care? Checkout my Ethics CEUs on CEU Academy and try a FREE CEU today!)
Core Principles of Healthcare Ethics
The word “principle” means fair and right conduct as well as a fundamental truth or doctrine. So, principles of health care refer to ethical behaviors and actions we can take when working with our patients, clients or long-term care residents. They stand for what we value, hold true and how we will carry out actions to ensure ethical and fair treatment.
Among the most widely-held principle in health care is autonomy. This refers to freedom of action, thought or will. It also means to act independently and without the coercion of others. Most of us live the way we want to, and hopefully, we will die the way we want to. We strive to preserve an individual’s autonomy by learning who the person is, what they want, and understanding their condition and possible treatments. Ultimately autonomy means to protect the person’s capacity to act intentionally, make one’s own decisions and act freely and voluntarily.
Another core principle in health care is beneficence. This is the act of doing what is good or right for others. As health care professionals, we cannot discriminate. We are to act with kindness, charity and love. It also refers to helping the individual in any way that we can. Beneficence also involves making decisions with the individual and sometimes for the individual, based on their interests – not on our own.
A discussion on healthcare ethics must include the principle of confidentiality. Most of us have had confidentiality drilled into our psyches for all eternity. Despite this, it is important to practice what we know about confidentiality. We should always protect sensitive information including names, diagnoses, treatments and family information. Any information found in a patient’s chart should not be open for public discussion. This seems rather simple, but sometimes we may unintentionally discuss sensitive information out in the open.
This short article doesn’t allow for many other principles to be reviewed, such as the common good, justice, non-malfeasance, paternalism, stewardship, Doctrine of Double Effect and truth-telling. I’ll keep those for another article.
Final Words on Ethics in Health Care
Ethics in health care is not a boring topic. One day, we may have to make decisions that will impact a patient’s quality of life or how a person dies. Do you believe in medical marijuana? Physician-assisted suicide? Pain management? Non-compliance? Addiction? Do these sound like boring ethical topics?
(NOTE: Interested in learning more about Ethics in health care? Checkout my Ethics CEUs on CEU Academy and try a FREE CEU today!)