The Four Principles Of Morality

839 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Professional ethics of medicine

One can say that a person’s autonomy is proof enough to decide if they choose to discontinue life saving treatment. Be that as it may, when can a medical professional decide to ignore the patient’s request? To answer this question I will be using the principlist method argue when it is necessary for a medical professional to do what is in the best interest of the patient, even if it means violating their autonomy. Autonomy, or respecting one’s actions or choices, is one of the four main principles of morality. Autonomy is a major component of informed consent and to give consent is to be competent. Thus, I will be providing information of what it means to be competent. The second principle of morality is beneficence or the obligation to help …show more content…

He has just been diagnosed with depression and given antidepressants. Before his medications could take effect George has a heart attack. His heart and kidney are affected so that blood cannot be pumped to his kidneys. He is put on renal dialysis until he could recover. But it is not clear if the treatment will prove effective. George, unable to endure the reality of his illness and other detrimental issues, requests to discontinue treatment and be allowed to die. Respecting a person’s sovereignty is essential when working in the medical field. The “rules” of upholding one’s autonomy is to respect the privacy of others, to not lie, to maintain confidentiality, to obtain consent, and to advise one when needed. Physicians should dismiss a person lacking the capacity to make decisions for themselves however it will defy the “ to obtain consent” and “to respect the privacy of others” …show more content…

The patient is lethargic, but has trouble sleeping which can impose serious psychological issues. Before having a heart attack and being put on dialysis, he spoke of “ending it all”. All of these factors prove that George’s competency should be questioned. In order to give informed consent the patient must be competent, a standard for concurrence. Therefore, he cannot approve of treatment if he is lacking decision-making capacity. Since the patient is not able to give informed consent it should be noted that George’s spouse should be the one to determine the best course of action. It would be up to his wife, Helen, to decide what should be done about continuing or discontinuing treatment. If she decides to respect George’s wishes, then treatment will cease. But the renal dialysis will resume if she chooses to ignore George’s request. This is only true if George is unable to achieve competency, such as treating his depression and then reevaluating if he still believes he should no longer be treated with renal dialysis to end his

Show More
Related

  • Medical Paternalism Analysis

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    Not all cases is patient autonomy the most important thing to respect and honor. There will always be situations where Medical paternalism is justified. Justifiable paternalism in a medical perspective is prolonging patients’ lives allowing them to exercise their autonomy. Failing to respect a patient’s treatment requests or denials is a violation of the autonomy at that point in time during their illness. While the previous statement is true, the medical professional is violating a patient’s future autonomy. For this reason, medical professionals have the right to act paternalistically, therefore medical paternalism is justified by means of future autonomy and obligations to promote patient

    Read More

  • Mrs. Boswell’s Dilemma

    1185 Words  | 3 Pages

    The ethical principle of non-maleficence demands to first do no harm and in this case protect the patient from harm since she cannot protect. Nurses must be aware in situations such as this, that they are expected to advocate for patients in a right and reasonable way. The dilemma with non-maleficence is that Mrs. Boswell has no chance of recovery because of her increasing debilitating mental incapability and the obvious harm that outweighs the intended benefits. If the decision were to continue treatment, the suffering of the patient and family would be evident. Autonomy is the right to make your own decisions and freedom to choose a plan of action.

    Read More

  • Unit 17 Person Centred Care Essay

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    Consent is necessary from everyone, not only those who can verbalise his or her needs. It is important to find out the persons communication needs so that they can be involved in discussions around their needs and preferences. My duty of care is to ensure that choices are given, and that appropriate support is obtained where there is lack of capacity is the decision is complex and the individual cannot consent. This may be from families or next of kin or using advocates to ensure that the client’s best interests are maintained. There may be past events or requests that could indicate the client’s preferences, and these must be considered when choices have to be made by others. Any preferences should be recorded on care plans and shared with relevant others to be able to determine the best interests of the person. Decisions should also be put off until the client is able to make their own choices where possible and not taken on their behalf through assuming we know

    Read More

  • Balancing Principles in Beauchamp and Childress

    2868 Words  | 6 Pages

    Principles of Biomedical Ethics, by Tom Beauchamp and James F. Childress, has for many critics in medical ethics exemplified the worse sins of "principlism." From its first edition, the authors have argued for the importance and usefulness of general principles for justifying ethical judgments about policies and cases in medical ethics. The organization of their book reflects this conviction, dividing discussion of particular ethical problems under the rubrics of the key ethical principles which the authors believe should govern our moral judgments: principles of autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence and justice.

    Read More

  • Decisions from Health Care Providers

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    Patients are ultimately responsible for their own health and wellbeing and should be held responsible for the consequences of their decisions and actions. All people have the right to refuse treatment even where refusal may result in harm to themselves or in their own death and providers are legally bound to respect their decision. If patients cannot decide for themselves, but have previously decided to refuse treatment while still competent, their decision is legally binding. Where a patient's views are not known, the doctor has a responsibility to make a decision, but should consult other healthcare professionals and people close to the patient.

    Read More

  • Why Decisions Should be Made Before Terminal Illness

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many people are afraid to make decisions concerning their wishes when they die. This includes fear of making wills and making critical decisions that affect lives of others when they are not there. When the patients are terminally ill, they become incapable of making these decisions and they are often assisted or directed by some external forces to make these decisions. This paper exploits options and conditions of different terminally ill patients with a keen look at their mental and health status. It is also going to explore on those patients with DNR (Do not Resuscitate) orders and advance directives.

    Read More

  • Informed Consent

    1909 Words  | 4 Pages

    Informed consent is the basis for all legal and moral aspects of a patient’s autonomy. Implied consent is when you and your physician interact in which the consent is assumed, such as in a physical exam by your doctor. Written consent is a more extensive form in which it mostly applies when there is testing or experiments involved over a period of time. The long process is making sure the patient properly understands the risk and benefits that could possible happen during and after the treatment. As a physician, he must respect the patient’s autonomy. For a patient to be an autonomous agent, he must have legitimate moral values. The patient has all the rights to his medical health and conditions that arise. When considering informed consent, the patient must be aware and should be able to give a voluntary consent for the treatment and testing without being coerced, even if coercion is very little. Being coerced into giving consent is not voluntary because others people’s opinions account for part of his decision. Prisoners and the poor population are two areas where coercion is found the most when giving consent. Terminally ill patients also give consent in hope of recovering from their illness. Although the possibilities are slim of having a successful recovery, they proceed with the research with the expectation of having a positive outcome. As stated by Raab, “informed consent process flows naturally from the ‘partnership’ between physician and patient” (Raab). Despite the fact that informed consent is supposed to educate the patients, it is now more of an avoidance of liability for physicians (Raab). Although the physician provides adequate information to his patient, how can he ensure that his patient properly ...

    Read More

  • Patient Autonomy Case Study

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political, and bioethical reasoning. Inside these connections, it is the limit of a sound individual to make an educated, unpressured decision. Patient autonomy can conflict with clinician autonomy and, in such a clash of values, it is not obvious which should prevail. (Lantos, Matlock & Wendler, 2011). In order to gain informed consent, a patient

    Read More

  • Gaining Consent In Nursing

    820 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to the NICE (2015) health and social care professionals should always seek valid consent from people with dementia. This should entail informing the person of options, and checking that he or she understands, that there is no coercion and that he or she continues to consent over time. If the person lacks the capacity to make a decision, the provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 must be followed. The nurse assessed the patient capacity and ensured that the decision made was in the best interest of the patient. The doctor uses specialist knowledge and experience and clinical judgement, and the patient’s views and understanding of their condition, to identify which investigations or treatments are likely to result in overall benefit for the patient (GMC, 2008). They took into consideration how the decision made will benefit Jean. After carrying out a full assessment, it was clear that Jean lack capacity and was therefore place under the mental capacity act

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Physician Assisted Suicide

    1130 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the many concerns is allowing incompetent individuals making this irreversible decision, which is why, “all have agreed that this end-of-life option should apply on to competent individual’s”(113). In addition, people opposed to this method argue that patients demanding this process are suffering from depression and not able to make decisions; yet, Rosenfled explains that practitioners most ensure that patients who consent to this medical intervention do it voluntarily, knowingly and

    Read More

  • The Four Principles in Biomedical Ethics

    1549 Words  | 4 Pages

    The principle of autonomy states, that an individual’s decision must be respected in all cases, also an individual can act freely in accordance to their plan. For example, in a case where a patient and family demands to continue medical or surgical care and a physician want the patient to stop further treatment. In this case the patient’s choice will matter the most. According to the principle of autonomy it will be the patients and family choice whether to continue or discontinue treatment. The principle of beneficence which states, “one must promote good” comes into play in this case. In accordance to beneficence the patient will not benefit from the physicians responses personally. He/she will not benefit from harming her body with more surgeries. The patient will be going against the principle non-maleficence, which states that “one must cause no harm to an individual” by causing harm to herself. In this case the physician is justified in his/her actions by discontinuing medical or surgical care to the patient because it will not it her. These principles are what healthcare provider use to help and guide patients with the ...

    Read More

  • Autonomy Informed Consent

    1931 Words  | 4 Pages

    Part 1: Describing the Main Topic of Chapter 2 “Principles of Autonomy and Informed Consent” The main topic of Chapter 2 “Principles of Autonomy and Informed Consent” is informed consent and the ethical issues behind it. In this chapter it discusses that individuals have autonomy meaning that they can choose and act or not act, this is the sense of them having free will. Free will is what allows individuals to be responsible for their actions and allow them to govern and live their life as they desire. But, the ethical issue arises pertaining to informed consent, which is a crucial concept in medical practice.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Public Health Or Clinical Ethics 'By Onora O' Neill

    990 Words  | 2 Pages

    Consequently, in Kant’s explanation of moral autonomy is that it can be no chances of freedom for one individual if that person acts without citation to all other moral agents. However, in ‘The four principle approach to Health care ethics’ article the author voiced one of the principles which was the respect of autonomy this means that a professional should respect the decision of a person, and their freedom to self-chosen plan. With this respect is to identify the individual’s capacities including their views to make certain choices and actions. Forcing someone to making a decision is ethically wrong because as professional they need to guide the patient not influence them into do something that may cause harm to the person without the intention to do so this is called non-maleficence of the four

    Read More

  • Paramedic Consent Case Study

    1406 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the case study, Betty was adamant in refusing treatment, despite the risks of the illness progressing and potentially leading to death; under the laws of the medical treatment act (1988) any adult who exhibits competency has the right to refuse treatment, even if refusal of care increases the risk to their health, this right is based on autonomy (3). The information outlined suggests that Betty was capable of making a decision as she fulfils all the elements of consent; therefore she is competent and has the right to deny treatment. Betty acknowledges the risks of not receiving treatment and admits that not receiving treatment will make it difficult, demonstrating her sound understanding of the risk and benefits of the outcomes. For a patient to fulfil the element of understanding they must receive, process and incorporate the information they are provided with into their own personal values and Betty demonstrates this level of understanding by sticking to her values, her decision to stay home and by acknowledging the difficulties and risks of not receiving treatment (3). Once Betty received a diagnosis she was informed by the paramedic of the outcomes and potential risks of not receiving treatment for her condition, Betty was sufficiently informed with information and risks relevant to her situation, enabling her to make an informed decision (3). In order for consent to be considered voluntary, a patient must consent to treatment in an environment free of threat and pressure; if a patients decision is genuine they will also accept responsibility for the outcomes and understand the risks (3). Voluntary consent is a slightly grey area in Betty’s scenario, her son is potentially placing pressure on Betty with his demands, however, Betty expresses responsibility by admitting it will be difficult to and

    Read More

  • Consent In Health And Social Care Essay

    1243 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gain consent from mental Capacity Act 2005 This act gives the examining person powers to consent during times of emergency. The decisions made by the examining person must be on the best interest of the patient who lacks capacity and must be in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The act states that, “Treatment should be given to a patient who is unable to consent”, only if: the patient does not have the capacity to give or withhold consent to this procedure and the procedure should be in the patient’s best interests.

    Read More

More about The Four Principles Of Morality

Open Document