Medical Ethics And Professionalism
DIAGNOSTIC RADIOGRAPHY · NTA LEVEL 4 · SEMESTER TWO Medical Ethics And Professionalism CRT04209 · Medical Professional Ethics START READING NOTES Study Medical Ethics And Professionalism using the sections below. Use the topic navigation to continue through Medical Professional Ethics. Contents of This Topic Learning Objectives Buzz(02 mins) Introduction Profession Characteristics of a Profession Medical Code of ethics BENEFICENCE JUSTICE AUTONOMY NON-MALEFICENCE PATERNALISM Can paternalism be justified? SOCIAL ROLES OF A PROFESSION Roles of Professional Associations and Licensing Bodies QUESTIONS REFERENCE MEDICAL ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM PROFESSIONALISM AND ETHICS IN MEDICAL PRACTICE Learning Objectives By the end of this session, students are expected to be able to: Explain the term ethics in medical practice Explain professionalism in medical practice Explain characteristics of a profession Describe medical code of ethics Explain the social role of a profession Explain the roles of professional associations and licensing bodies Buzz(02 mins) What are the Common ethical dilemmas?? Introduction Ethics is the system of moral standards that govern behavior of a group of people or members of a profession. Ethics provide guiding principles on how good and wise people ought to live and relate to each other within professional groups and otherwise. Medical ethics pertain to a system of moral standards for people in the healing profession. Introduction Profession Meaning Refer to a job that needs a high level of education and training Refer to occupation requiring advanced education and training, and involving intellectual skills, Eg. Radiography, law, theology, engineering, teaching, etc. Professions are groups which declare in a public way that their members promise to in certain ways and that the group and the society may discipline those who fail to do so. The profession usually issues a code of ethics stating the standards by which its members can be judged. Its members profess a commitment to competence, integrity, morality, humanity, and the promotion of the public good within their domain. Profession Medical profession differs from other professions in both content and motivation. Medical profession is a service profession dedicated to patients, centering on the doctor-patient/ Radiographer-patient relationship. The true professionalism in medicine will always put in first place the well-being of the patient and the community as principal objective. It attempts to make tangible certain attitudes, behaviors, and characteristics that are desirable among the medical profession. Hence. Professionalism is defined as the behavior, excellence and competence expected to be shown by a professional person. Characteristics of a Profession 1.Body of knowledge Usually the knowledge is not easily understood by the public. Professions have an obligation to transmit their knowledge by teaching it to future practitioners, the general public, and their patients. Characteristics of a Profession Service The knowledge is used in the service of others. Radiographer usually use their knowledge primary in diagnosing patient by using different diagnostic modalities.eg ultrasound machine and x-ray machine. Clinicians use their knowledge primarily to benefit (treatment) individual patient. Characteristics of a Profession Altruism Concern for the well-being for others Is the attitude of caring about others and doing acts that help them although you do not get anything by doing those acts. There is agreement that the trust placed in the professions and their privileged status are only justified by the expectation that they will be altruistic. For radiographer this means consistently placing the interests of individual patients and society above their own. Professions must be devoted to the public good. Characteristics of a Profession Autonomy Ability to act and make decision independently without being controlled by external force. This is another important characteristic of a profession which shows respect for client’s right to be self-governing Individually, radiographer are granted sufficient autonomy to act in the best interests of their patients. In the early days, autonomy was expressed in a paternalistic fashion, but modern society, recognizing patient autonomy, now views the radiographer-patient relationship as a partnership. Characteristics of a Profession Medical Code of ethics A written set of guidelines issued by an organization to its workers and management to help them conduct their actions in accordance with its primary values and ethical standards An agreement on ethical standards for a profession Professions have codes of ethics which specify the obligations arising from their duty. Professionalism requires the practitioner strive for excellence in the following areas which should be modelled by mentors and teachers and become part of the attitudes, behaviors, and skills integral to patient care: Altruism: Radiographer is obligated to attend to the best interest of patients, rather than self-interest. ii. Accountability: Radiographer are accountable to their patients, to society on issues of public health, and to their profession. Medical Code of ethics iii. Excellence: Radiographer are obligated to make a commitment to life-long learning. iv. Duty: Radiographer should be available and responsive when ‘on call,’ accepting a commitment to service within the profession and the community. Honor and integrity: Radiographer should be committed to being fair, truthful and straightforward in their interactions with patients, relatives and the profession. vi. Respect for others: Radiographer should demonstrate respect for patients and their families, other physicians and team members, medical students, residents and fellows. Medical Code of ethics The four recognized principles that guide medical ethics are: Beneficence Non-maleficence Justice Autonomy BENEFICENCE Beneficence is one of the moral principles of medical practice. It is the basis for the practice of doing good for, and being kind to patients The principles of beneficence requires:- One should not inflict harm; One should prevent harm; One should remove what is bad; One should promote good. JUSTICE It is the principle that requires that each person be assured of the things that belong to him/her. Refers to just conduct or fair dealing. a group of norms for distributing benefits, risks, and cost fairly It means giving every person what they deserve AUTONOMY Respect for autonomy is a norm of respecting the decision- making capabilities of autonomous persons (patient) . Respect for client’s right to be self-governing NON-MALEFICENCE NONMALEFICENCE is a norm of avoiding causation of harm to others Doing no harm to