Ethics in Healthcare: Double Effect and Virtues

Double Effect

• Healthcare providers may perform actions with positive and negative outcomes, such as chemotherapy, which aims to kill cancer cells but may cause nausea and vomiting.
• This principle is ethically permissible if the harm is unintentional, even if it is foreseeable.
• Advantages: Improves recovery chances and quality of life.
• Disadvantages: May be impractical in low-risk situations, cause patient discomfort, and lead to delayed treatment.

Virtues

• Courage: Taking action for the well-being of those in care despite difficulties.
• Justice: Ensuring fairness and equality in patient treatment and access to care.

Vices

• Substance abuse & drug addiction: Impairs judgment and ability to provide competent care.
• Theft: Stealing medical supplies, finances, time, and resources.
• Fraud: Falsifying records, insurance claims, and receiving illegal benefits.
• Plagiarism: Using other's work without proper attribution.
• Pride: Undermining trust and professionalism through arrogance.

Responsibilities of a Nurse

• Basic bedside care
• Operating medical equipment
• Conducting physical examinations
• Providing patient support and advice
• Advocating for patient well-being
• Maintaining inventory
• Educating patients about managing illness
• Monitoring patient health
• Collaborating with the healthcare team
• Performing diagnostic procedures
• Recording patient history and symptoms
• Training and educating staff
• Administering medications and treatments

Ethical Principles in Healthcare

• Beneficence: Acting in the patient's best interest, promoting well-being, and preventing harm.
• Nonmaleficence: Duty to do no harm, emphasizing safe and effective care.

Qualities that Promote Ethical and Effective Care

• Fidelity: Loyalty to patients, colleagues, schools, and communities.
• Integrity: Upholding honest and ethical standards, promoting transparency.
• Humility: Recognizing limitations, fostering learning and growth.
• Respect: Valuing patient dignity, rights, values, and cultural diversity.
• Compassion: Recognizing and understanding the emotional needs of others.
• Prudence: Wise decision-making, exercising practical wisdom.
• Empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings of patients.

Ethical Considerations in Healthcare

• Justice: Ensuring fair and equitable access to healthcare services for everyone, reducing health disparities.
• Fairness in Distribution of Resources: Providing essential care to all, possibly through policies covering preventive and chronic disease management.
• Patient Autonomy: Patients have the right to make informed decisions about their care, including refusing treatment.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Patient Treatment

• Respecting Patient Choice: Advantages include patient autonomy, while disadvantages include potential negative health outcomes due to patient choices.
• Patient-Centred Decision Making: Advantages include patient empowerment and informed consent, while disadvantages include potential pressure and anxiety for patients.
• Veracity (Honesty): Advantages include emotional preparation for families and making necessary arrangements, while disadvantages include grief and feeling overwhelmed.
• Transparency: Advantages include building trust and confidence, allowing for corrective actions to avoid future errors, while disadvantages include potential loss of confidence and anxiety from the patient.

Respect for Others

• Acknowledging the dignity, rights, and values of all individuals.
• Supporting patient autonomy and respecting patient beliefs.

Stewardship

• Responsible management of resources, including time, supplies, and finances, to provide excellent care without waste.
• Reducing medication waste and ensuring effective patient treatment.

Cooperation

• Collaboration with other professionals and clients to achieve the best outcomes.
• Reducing the risk of errors and enhancing patient safety through effective information sharing.

Explore the ethical principles of the Double Effect in healthcare, focusing on the balance of positive and negative outcomes. This quiz also delves into the roles of virtues and vices in medical practice, emphasizing the importance of courage and justice in patient care.