M1L1 - BIOETHICS DEFINITION
ETHICS
- A practical & normative science based on reason which studies human acts &
provide norms for goodness & badness
BIOETHICS
- Moral philosophy that deals with morality, moral rectitude or the rightness and
wrongness of human act
❖ Bioethics as Practical Science
- It deals with a systematized body of knowledge that can be used, practiced and
applied to human action
❖ Bioethics as Normative Science
- It establishes norms or standards for the direction and regulation of human
actions
Ethics attempts to resolve these questions
1. How can one determine whether one is acting rightly or wrongly?
2. Is there a norm of good and evil?
TYPES OF ETHICS
A. General or Normative Ethics
- diverse ethical formulations of general and universal concepts and principles
which serve as the foundation of morality
- raises the problem of moral norm & attempts to formulate and defend a system
of fundamental ethical perceptions that settle which acts are good or evil
- does not only apply general moral concepts and principles but also specifies the
particular situations in life which they are valid & legitimate
- applied in an attempt to resolve specific moral problems
B. Applied Ethics
1) Professional Ethics
o deals with certain moral precepts or rules by which persons behave and
act in exercise of their calling or profession
o e.g., nursing ethics, teacher’s code of ethics for educators
2) Biology
o A natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms
including their structure, function, growth, origin, distribution and
taxonomy
3) Bioethics (Ethics of life)
o investigates practices and developments in the life sciences and or
biomedical fields; its primary and major predicaments are those
concerning life, health and death that have resulted from modern
biological technology particularly the way they have affected human
values
EVOLUTIONARY PHASES OF BIOETHICS
A. Medical Ethics
- oldest phase of bioethical exploration; codes of ethics were written by and for
physicians as early as the 3rd century BC
- a formulation of ethical norms for the conduct of health care professionals in
the treatment of patients
• Hippocratic Oath
- oldest known formulations of medical ethics, named after Hippocrates
- to be kept from harm and injustice (physician should not prescribe fatal dugs
nor should suggest fatal drugs to be taken
- rules out any form of abortifacient and sexual relations between doctors &
patients
- moral significance of confidentiality, the medical secrecy
B. Research Ethics
- refers to the use of humans as experimental specimens e.g. prisoners, poor
patients, children and fetuses.
- Third Reich-dictatorial regime of Adolf Hitler; superman concept as the
culmination of the philosophy will to power; experiment using human without
consent was done
• Nuremburg Code
- attempted to humanize the cruel & barbaric nature of experiments using
human species in German concentration camps. It takes into account the
experimental subjects’ consent, now known as informed consent, informed
decision or informed choice
• Public Policy
- accentuates the participatory aspect of decision making in a democratic set up
with regard to the formulation of public policies for the benefit of all
- refers to the people’s efforts or involvement in formulating public guidelines for
both clinical cases and biomedical research
THE PERSONHOOD
- Man is man by his intellect & his rational will
- Man is responsible for his actions
- He alone is aware of what he is doing and is free to act or not to act
- When he does not know what he is doing or when he is no longer free to act,
the responsibility for his actions is no longer blamed to him.
- Acts of irrational animals and insane persons are devoid of moral significance.
They are amoral beings performing non-moral acts
HUMAN ACTS & ACTS OF MAN
A. Human Acts
- Done with knowledge & full consent of will
- One knows what one is doing and does it freely and willingly
B. Acts of Man
- performed in the absence of either or both knowledge & full consent of the will
- Actions committed by unconscious and insane persons, by infants or by those
who are physically forced to do something.
- Actions which merely happen in the body or through the body without the
awareness of the mind or the control of the will.
❖ 3 Elements of Human Acts
1. Knowledge – Awareness/consciousness of conditions & meaning of our actions.
An act performed during sleep or when a person is insane is not a human act.
2. Freedom – Power to choose between 2 or more courses of action without being
forced to take one or the other by anything except your own will.
3. Voluntariness – Occurs when man knows the purpose of his action (Will Act)
IGNORANCE
- absence of knowledge in an individual who is supposed to know it
a. Vincible – can be overcome by exerting some effort
b. Invincible – can hardly be removed even if one were to exert extra effort to
overcome it
CONSCIENCE
- the moral faculty of a man which tells him subjectively what is good and evil
- sensitivity with regard to choosing our actions
- the consciousness of human value is the basis of judgment we make concerning
morality of our actions.
- if our evaluation of the worth of a person is high, we shall be sensitive to how
close our action is to the deal
- if it is low, then we shall be less sensitive in achieving the ideal
- the last arbiter of one’s moral decision
M1L2 - SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS
ETHICAL RELATIVISM
- moral relativism which claims that there are no universal or absolute moral
principles and the standards of right or wrong are always relative to a particular
culture or society
A. SITUATION ETHICS
- by Joseph Fletcheran American Protestant Medical Doctor
❖ 3 Approaches to Morality (Fletcher):
1. Legalistic/normative – prescribes certain general moral prescriptions, laws or
norms by which to judge, determine and settle the rightness and wrongness of
human judgment or decision; Fletcher finds this too restrictive
2. Antinomian – frees the Christian from the obligations of the moral law; there
are no absolute percepts of moral principles by which to be guided in making
decision; Fletcher finds it too liberal and unconventional which may lead to
anarchy and chaos
3. Situationism – the moral norm depends upon a given situation; whatever the
situation may be, one must always act in the name of Christian love; Situation
refers to human condition or any state of moral affairs and issues that demand
a moral judgment or action; Fletcher’s preferred approach
❖ 3 types of Love (Fletcher):
1. Eros - sexual love
2. Philia – affection that binds a parent to a child, a brother to a sister, etc.
3. Agapeic – one’s care, concern and kindness to others; characterized by charity,
respect and responsibility towards the others; Christian love
B. SITUATIONISM
❖ Key Points in Medical Context
1. combine love & justice in treating ill patients
2. Agapeic love serves to check selfish motive as well as uncaring health personnel
3. It makes moral decisions flexible and adaptable to varying situations.
Circumstances, alter cases
❖ Argument: Medical misuse and abuse may be surreptitiously committed.
C. PRAGMATISM
- Charles Peirce and William James Peirce – philosopher, physicist,
mathematician and the founder and inventor of the term pragmatism
- More of a theory of knowledge, truth and meaning than of morality
- Holds that the true and valid form of knowledge is one which is practical,
workable, beneficial and useful
❖ True and Valid form of Knowledge according to Pierce
1. Practical – one that we can practice and produces practical results
2. Workable – one that we can put to work; it can be worked out and it works
3. Beneficial – it benefits people; useful – used to attain good results
❖ Key Point in Medical Context
1. The truth happens to ideas and is not a quality or property of ideas.
2. Truth is made by true events or happening
❖ Argument: Materialistic – its claim that the truth is the cash value of an idea;
too individualistic
D. UTILITARIANISM
- 2 English philosophers, Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill
- It claims that there is one and only one moral principle – the principle of utility
- States that the rightness and wrongness of actions is determined by the
goodness and badness of their consequences
- The utility of an action is determined by the extent to which it promotes
happiness rather than its reverse.
- Consequences, effects, results and outcomes are most important
- Alternative form of the utilitarian’s utility principle as to get rid of individualism
and subjectivism: Principle of the Greatest Happiness
❖ Principle of the Greatest Happiness
1. An action is good (right) in so far as it produces the greatest happiness for the
greatest number of people;
2. An action is bad (wrong) in so far as it produces more harm than benefit for the
greatest number of individuals
3. Act utilitarianism – situationalistic; it applies the principle of utility to particular
cases in particular situations
4. Rule utilitarianism – absolutistic once a rule or policy is formulated, it must be
followed given the same set of circumstances
❖ Key Points in the Medical Context: provides a system for formulating, testing
and evaluating hospital policies and regulations which give rise to the
enactment of laws, directives, guidelines and codes of conduct
❖ Argument: (1) It justifies the imposition of discomfort or suffering on a few for
the sake of the many (2) It is somewhat impractical to attempt to determine all
the possible legitimate results that must be taken into account before a moral
decision can be adjudged as right or wrong (3) It ignores the motives from which
some moral decisions are made
M2L1- SCHOOL OF THOUGHTS #2
A. IMMANUEL KANT’S ETHICS
- brilliant German thinker of great renown
- sometimes called “deontologism”, motives theory
- its emphasis on duty or obligation
- others regard it as a form of intuitionism
- it claim that morality is exclusively within the human personality
- what is morally right or wrong is solely a matter of intent, motive and will.
- intuition means internal motive or intention
❖ Main Points of Kant’s view
1. What makes an act moral as distinguished from a non-moral one?
2. What is the difference between a person who acts morally &one who does not?
❖ According to Kant:
1. One acts morally if and only if one does whatever one is obliged to do.
2. Anyone who does something merely because one feels like doing it is not acting
morally, is not a moral person nor is he/she performing a moral act.
3. An act is aid to be moral if its done out of duty and not for other reasons.
➢ Question: What is that an individual is obliged to do?
➢ Answer: Doing one’s duty is doing what one is obliged to do. Hence, duty
is also known as obligation. Duty is one which an individual is obliged to
do despite the inclination to do otherwise
❖ Act Done In Accord With Duty VS Act Done From A Sense Of Duty
1. Acting in accord with duty – Person performs his/her function merely out of the
desire to do so or out of fear of being accused of negligence, such action is non-
moral; has no moral significance
2. Act done from a sense of duty – A person recognizes the presence of special
obligation which is brought about by the existence of a relationship.
❖ 2 Types of Duty
A. Perfect – one which must always be observed irrespective of time, place and
circumstances
B. Imperfect – one which must be observed only on some occasions
The essence of morality is to be found in the nature from which an act is done.
The rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by the motive from which
it is being carried out regardless of the consequences which doing so or not
doing so will produce
The motive refers to the duty that one is obliged to perform; it is what makes
the act morally good
➢ Question: In order to act appropriately, how can a person know his/her
duty in a given situation?
➢ Answer: One must judge his/her action in the light of how it would appear
if it were to become a universal precept or code of behavior.
❖ Categorical Imperative VS Hypothetical Imperative
A. Categorical Imperative – mandates an action without any condition whatsoever
and without regard to the consequences that such an action may yield
B. Hypothetical Imperative - a command with a corresponding condition or
limitation
❖ Formulations of the Categorical Imperative
1. Act only on the maxim which you can at the same time will to become a
universal law.
- the maxim must be binding on everyone at all times in all places
- wrong acts involve contradictory or inconsistent results; e.g. we apply the
maxim to others but not to ourselves or when we lay down conditions to justify
exceptions to a moral rule
2. Always act so as to treat humanity either yourself or others as an end and never
only as a means.
- Kant’s principle of justice which is interpreted to mean that no individual should
be discriminated against before the law
- another way of stating Confucius Chung’s “Do unto others what you wish
yourself”
❖ Key Points in the Medical Context
- It is always wrong to lie, no matter what the consequences may be.
- We must always treat people (including ourselves) as ends and not only as
means.
- An action is right and legitimate in so far as it satisfies the categorical imperative.
- Kant’s distinction between perfect ad imperfect duties suggests that some rights
should be recognized
- Argument
- Kant’s principles have no clear way of resolving cases of conflicting duties e.g.
keeping a promise not to divulge a secret (duty to keep a secret vs duty not to
lie)
- The categorical imperative fails to establish duties in cases involving maxims that
cannot be willed to become a universal law for subjective reasons (e.g. issue of
lying)
- A problem in connection with the notion that we have a duty to treat others as
rational beings or persons; e.g. Moral issue of abortion- Is a developing fetus in
a mother’s womb considered a person?
- Rational person pertains to an autonomous self-regulating will-Does a newborn
baby or a mentally retarded person have such a will?
C. ROSS ETHICS
- A rule-deontological theory presented by William David Ross, a British
Aristotelian scholar and moral philosopher
- Recognized that there are exceptions for every rule and in some situations rule
must be set aside.
- Absolute Rules (such as Kant’s) are often insensitive to the consequences of an
act; may be in conflict with one another; inflexible that they become irrelevant
to ever-changing situations.
- According to Ross, rightness and goodness are the only 2 moral properties.
- When we say that the act is right, rightness is a moral property for that act. But
it is not identical with the act per se.
- Rightness, the moral property might not be identical with the act itself.
Right acts – rightness belongs to acts independent of motives
Good motives – moral goodness belongs to motives
Act – that which is done
Action – the doing of an act; the carrying out or the execution
- The doing of a right act can be the result of a morally bad motive or the doing
of a wrong act can originate from a good motive.
- In considering the rightness of an act as well as the goodness of a motive, we
have to determine the non-moral properties or circumstances surrounding the
act (the what, why and why it is being done).
❖ Actual Duty and Prima Facie Duty
- To resolve the question which one should apply when moral rules come in
conflict in particular situations
A. Actual Duty – one’s real duty in a given situation; the action; one ought to
choose from among many other actions
B. Prima Facie Duty – (Latin: “at first view” or so far as it appears); one that directs
or commands what one ought to perform when other relevant factors are not
taken into account
❖ 2 Principles to Resolve Cases of Conflicting Duties
1. Act in accordance with stronger, more stringent or more severe prima facie duty
2. Act in accordance with the prima facie duty which has a greater balance of
rightness or wrongness compared to other prima facie duties.
❖ Problem with Ross’s twofold principle
1. It does not tell us how can we identify which of the prima facie duties is more
stringent
2. It does not give us a rule to settle the balance of rightness or wrongness
between two conflicting duties.
❖ Intuitionism
- we have to rely on our moral intuitions as the ultimate guide when faced with
such situations.
❖ What to do:
1. Learn and discern the facts in the case
2. Consider the possible consequences of our actions.
3. Reflect on our prima facie duties
4. Decide on the best course of action under the circumstances
❖ 7 Types of Prima Facie Duties
A. Duty of Fidelity – being faithful to our duties, obligations, vows or pledges
loyalty to a worthy cause, telling the truth as the situation demands it, keeping
actual and implicit promises and not representing fiction as truth
B. Duty of reparation – also known as duty of compensations duty to make amends
for injury that we have inflicted on others an act of making amends, righting the
wrongs we have done to other; “sorry” is not enough, something good must be
done for that person to compensate for the wrongdoing
C. Duty of justice - proper distribution of social benefits and burdens
D. Duty of beneficence – encourages us not only to bring about what is good for
others but also to help them better their conditions with respect to virtue,
intelligence or comfort; duty to confer benefits and to prevent and remove harm
E. Duty of self-improvement - duty to improve and develop ourselves with respect
to virtue, intelligence and happiness; unless one performs or carries out one’s
duty to oneself, the fulfillment of one’s other duties would be less effective
F. Duty of nonmaleficence – synonymous with “not injuring others”; we ought to
avoid inflicting evil, harm or injury which encompasses pain, suffering, disability
and death upon others as we would avoid doing so to ourselves
❖ Key Points in Medical Context
- Discernment and sensitivity must be evident with regard to the unique aspects
of varying situations before making a moral decision
- Our moral guide should be not what is useful but what is right.
- The list of prima facie duties may serve as moral guidelines for healthcare
professionals including researchers.
❖ Argument: (1) Persons differ in their moral perceptions so that Ross’s “more
stringent duty principle” varies from one individual to another
C. RAWL’S THEORY OF JUSTICE
- John Rawls, a noted Harvard philosopher has attempted a brilliant synthesis of
the strengths of utilitarianism and of the deontological views of Kant and Ross
- Avoided the apparent lack of justice in utilitarianism
- had built on both Kant’s and Ross’s fundamental notion of the ultimate dignity
of human beings in his concept of social morality which serves as the basis of
social justice.
- Rawls’s talks of a hypothetical situation which he calls “the original position” in
trying to elucidate his concept of justice.
a. individuals under the veil of ignorance
b. self-interested and rational
c. choices and decisions are fair
d. Justice is fairness
❖ Theory of Justice
1. Every individual is inviolable.
- Not even the general welfare of the society can override or supersede it.
- The greater good to be shared by all members should not be used to justify the
loss of freedom of others.
2. An erroneous theory is tolerable in the absence of a good one.
- When given 2 erroneous laws, one should choose the better and the less
erroneous one
- An act of injustice can be tolerated if and only if it is necessary to avoid an even
greater injustice.
- It must be remembered that in a case of tolerable erroneous theory, it is the
only one available at hand, so it follows that it must be carried out for the sake
of those who are supposedly benefited or affected by it.
- A wrong or an unjust law is better than no law at all.
3. Individual liberties should be restricted in order to maintain equality of
opportunity.
- Restrictions of individual liberties serve as safeguards against abuses and
misuses of one’s freedom against others.
❖ Two-fold Principle of Justice
1. Equal access to the basic human rights and liberties
- Guarantees a system of equal rights and liberties for every citizen; prohibits the
bartering away of liberty for social and monetary considerations.
- e.g. No citizen may sell his/her right to vote
2. Fair equality of opportunity and the equal distribution of socio-economic
inequalities
- Deals more with the distribution of social goods and or medical resources than
with liberty.
- A just society is not one in which everyone is equal but is one in which
inequalities must be demonstrated to be legitimate.
❖ 4 Types of Duties to Promote Justice in Human Relations
a) fairness in our dealing with others
b) fidelity
c) respect for person
d) beneficence
❖ Natural Duties
a) the duty of justice
b) the duty of helping others in need or in jeopardy
c) the duty not to harm or injure others
d) the duty to keep our promises
- He also perceives the need to rank our duties to prioritize them according to
higher and lower categories in order to resolve any possible conflict.
❖ Key Points in the Medical Context
1. Rawls recommends the legitimacy of paternalism which other should act or
decide in one’s behalf whenever we are unable to make the decision by and for
ourselves.
2. Exploitation which is deliberately intended to benefit one person or a group of
persons is not morally legitimate
3. Rawls justified the allocation of social resources for the training of medical
personnel by the benefits it will give to the society.
4. Sanctions the voluntary consent of an individual to become a research subject
by virtue of his basic right to decide on what risks he is willing to take
5. He introduced the concept of an order of priority with regard to equal access to
health care (equal opportunity and equal distribution of socio-medical
resources)
❖ Argument: (1) Rawls does not permit the people in the original position to know
their goals, plans, interests and purposes but only their self-respect, wealth and
rationality which contradicts his notion of justice is fairness. (2) If the people in
the original position are rational beings just as we are, it is impossible for them
not to be able to know their se, race, social position or personal endowment.
- In contrast with his objection against utilitarianism, Rawls’s concept of
justice(liberties of individuals should be restricted provided that such
restrictions are for the benefit of everyone) refers to the utility principle of the
greatest number.
D. THOMISTIC ETHICS/NATURAL LAW ETHICS
- after St. Thomas Aquinas, a profound Italian philosopher and theologian who
gave this doctrine its most influential formulation and articulation in the 13th
century.
Scholastic Ethics - after the brilliant moral teachings of a group of scholars
known as Scholastics or Schoolmen headed by St. Thomas Aquinas in the
University of Paris during the middle ages
Christian Ethics and/or Roman Catholic Ethics – in so far as the church’s
contemporary versions of the theory are mostly elaborations and
interpretations of St. Thomas’ basic ethical and precepts.
❖ Natural Law Ethics
- because it claims that there exists a natural moral law which is manifested by
the natural light of human reason demanding the preservation of the natural
order and forbidding its violations.
- the source of the moral law is reason itself which directs us towards the good
as the goal of our action and that good is discoverable within our nature.
- reason recognizes the basic principle “Do good, avoid evil.”
❖ Synderesis
- the term used by STA to describe the inherent capacity of every individual,
lettered or unlettered, to distinguish the good from the bad.
- certain moral principles are objective and can be found in the nature of things
through reason and reflection.
- believes that the moral law is the dictate of the voice of reason which is
expressed in the moral principle,
- “The good must be done and evil avoided”.
- view the voice of reason as the voice of conscience, refers to the immediate
judgment of practical reason applying the general principle of morality.
➢ Question: How do we know if we are acting rightly or wrongly?
➢ Answer: We know we are acting rightly if we follow the voice of reason
and we are acting wrongly if we act against it.
❖ Man’s Threefold Natural Inclination
- the good is built into human nature and we are directed by our natural
inclination as both physical and rational creatures
1. Self-preservation
- urges us to care for our heath, not to kill ourselves or put ourselves in danger.
- Any act that violates this basic inclination is wrong & contradicts human nature
- anything that will endanger man like suicide and even smoking are evil; anything
hat will promote health like physical exercise is by nature good.
2. Just dealing with others
- Reason by nature leads us to treat others with the same dignity and respect we
give ourselves, the basis of justice which arises out of human relations.
- Any act of injustice like exploitation, seduction, abduction, deception, cheating,
kidnapping, etc. are by nature evil.
3. Propagation of our species 5. Risk Taking Personality
- We are naturally inclined to perpetuate our species; viewed as a natural good - The quality of being courageous, strong,open and vulnerable
- The reproductive organs are by nature designed to reproduce and to perpetuate 6. Patience
the human species. - The quality of being willing to put up waiting, pain or anything that annoys,
- Anything that would prevent reproduction of human specie is considered trouble or hurts
unnatural, hence, evil.
- The natural moral law is founded in human nature (that is man’s being rational VIRTUE
and free) which is regarded as unchangeable ,hence, natural law itself is - Refers to a particular moral excellence
unchangeable. - Uprightness or integrit
- The natural moral law is universal, seen as the same for all people at all times - Praiseworthy trait of human character
and in all places in so far as every individual is endowed with reason and - Character trait that is morally valued
freedom. - Being virtuous entails acting in moderation
- The ultimate source is divine wisdom and God’s eternal law. So, natural law is VIRTUE ETHICS
the divine law expressed in human nature. - Philosopher Aristotle, in his Nicomachean Ethics, suggests that a different
❖ 3 Determinants of Moral Action solution than the action-centered ethical system of duty oriented and
- (determines the rightness or wrongness of a concrete individual human act) consequence oriented reasoning when he places the focus not on the particular
- For a given act to be truly morally good, it must be good in all is three elements. action but rather, on the Heart of Moral Agent
A) The Object – which the will intends directly and primarily. It may be either - Nicomachean Ethics is a philosophical inquiry into the nature of the good life for
a thing or an action (e.g. The nurse injecting a drug into an ailing patient) a human being who discover the nature of human happiness it is necessary to
B) Object – injecting a drug determine what the function of a human being is, for a person's happiness will
C) The Circumstances – conditions which when superadded to the nature of consist in fulfilling the natural function toward which his being is directed.
the moral act will affect its morality; will either mitigate or aggravate the - Primary Focus of Virtue Ethics is the Heart of the Moral Agent making the
goodness or badness of a particular act decision rather than the reasoning to a right action.
❖ 7 Circumstances - Virtue Ethics places its focus on the sorts of characteristic, traits or virtues than
1. Who – has something to do with the special quality, prestige, rank or excellence a good person should have. The belief is that some who has appropriate moral
of the person involved in the moral act virtues such as courage, temperance, wisdom and justice will naturally act in
2. What – refers to the quantity or quality of the moral object certain ways. (Edge and Groves, 2019)
3. Where – denotes the place where the act occurs - Virtue Ethics is primarily about personal character and moral habit development
4. By what means – refers to the means used in carrying out the act rather than a particular action.
5. Why – the end or purpose of the action - The moral virtues, then are produced in us either by nature nor against nature.
6. How – indicates the manner in which the action is done; complete willingness, Nature indeed prepares in us the ground for their reception but their complete
prerequisite of immutability formation is a product of a habit (Aristotle 384-322 B.C.)
7. When – refers to the time element involved in the performance of an action - According to Aristotle, a function or the essence of humanity such as
❖ The End or Purpose: the end or purpose of the doer or agent doctor/nurses were to make the sick well are neither natural or unnatural
❖ Key Points in the Medical Context brought by the practice of virtue.
1. Natural law ethical principle - it is morally wrong to allow babies suffering from - Goodness of character then, is brought by the practice of virtue such as courage,
serious birth deformities to die; honesty and justice. It creates a habit of taking pleasure in virtuous acts which
2. Hasten the death of a person as direct and primary intention and to perform acted as a sign of good LIFE. Aristotle’s Traits of a Virtuous Character
acts that terminate the lives of the incurable either by taking steps to bring
about their death or by failing to take steps to prolong their lives through ❖ Aristotle’s Traits of a Virtuous Character
ordinary treatment. 1. Virtuous acts must be chosen for their own sakes
3. The principle of procreation considers abortion and the use of positive methods 2. Choice must proceed from a firm and unchangeable character.
of contraception to be morally wrong. 3. Virtue is a disposition to choose the mean.
4. From the moment of conception, the conceptus is considered to be a person ✓ “One becomes just and temperate by doing just and temperate things”
with all the rights of a person, hence, abortion at any stage of pregnancy is
morally wrong. ❖ Different Virtues of a Health Care Provider
❖ Argument: 1. FIDELITY – Referred to steadfast faithfulness; Pledge of loyalty or the practice of
- Everything has a goal or purpose. Nature does nothing in vain. Bacteria or germs keeping promises
have their reason for being. Once this is rejected, the natural law theory 2. HONESTY – Means the quality of being honorable and upright in character and
collapses actions; Fairness and uprightness
- Concept of conscience – by product of one’s upbringing and development, so, it 3. INTEGRITY – Uprightness in character and actions
differs from one person to another. 4. HUMILITY – Meekness of heart acts with gentle spirit; Calls for submission,
docility and courtesy; Freedom from pride and arrogance, lowliness of mind;
M3L1 – THE HEALTHCARE PROVIDER Modest estimate of one’s worth; Acceptance of one’s own human imperfection,
❖ The Qualities and/or Characteristics of Effective Health Care Providers sinfulness and self-embracement
Quality 5. RESPECT – Esteem or honor; Shows recognition or high regard to self-worth,
- A dynamic state associated with people, services, processes and environment self-respect with dignity; Respect for authority; Respect for others with
that meets or exceeds expectations tolerance
- Applies to any distinctive feature or characteristic of an individual 6. SELF-RESPECT – Favorable estimate or opinion of oneself; Self-esteem; Regard
- Professional’s proficiencies that conform to clients or patients expectation for oneself
- Desirable personal attributes or traits that health care providers such as nurses, 7. RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY – Due regard to a person with the right to give
may possess commands and power to enforce obedience; Parents, teachers; elected officials;
Personal Qualities and Characteristics BON; PNA
1. Self Respect 8. RESPECT OF OTHERS – Due regard to immediate and distant relatives,
- Proper regard for the dignity of one’s character or position neighbors, peers, classmates, friends
- Appreciation or recognition of its obligation of worthy conduct 9. COMPASSION – Signifies sympathy; Implies feeling for another’s sorrow or
2. Self-Transcendence hardship that leads to help or pity; To wish or to help those who suffer and who
- The quality of going beyond one’s own self are in need of service
- Self-giving; Selfless love; The death of self 10. PRUDENCE – Signifies carefulness, precaution, attentiveness and good
3. Service Oriented judgment As applied to action or conduct; With care and diligence; Cautious of
- The quality of being helpful, useful and generous to others ones actions ; Discernment or keenness in seeing, perceiving or understanding
- Value-added attitude of dedication to one’s work not mindful of renmuneration a problem or situation, or issue; To be sensitive, discreet, judicious and wise
paid, time spent or schedule given 11. COURAGE – Signifies bravery and fearlessness; Moral strength that makes a
4. Simplicity person face any danger, trouble or pain steadily without showing fear
- The quality of being sincere, true or straightforward
- Absence of show or pretension
- To live with integrity, to be simple
- Advocate of sustainable development
VIRTUE ETHICS M3L2 – QUALITIES OF THE HEALTHCARE PROVIDER (NURSE)
- While consequentialist and deantological theories emphasize universal When we think of people who work in healthcare, we tend to think of people who
standards and impartiality, the Ethics of Care emphasizes the importance of are caring, kind and patient. While this may be true, there is more to being a health
response. Instead of question “What is Just?” the Ethics of Care asks” how do I professionals than having a kind heart.
respond”
✓ “All the virtues that we discussed as well discernment, trustworthiness and Whether you’re a Nurse in a hospital, a Carer in a residential village or a Disability
conscientiousness provides a moral compass for decision making in the Ethics of Support Worker in a group home, there are certain skills, traits and qualities that all
Care” great health professionals possess that make them successful in what they do. So,
what are they?
➢ Your Beliefs Become your THOUGHTS
➢ Your Thought Become your WORDS 1. Passion for the job
➢ Your Words Become your ACTIONS, First and foremost, if you’re looking to enter the healthcare industry, it’s really
➢ Your Actions Becomes your HABITS important that you are passionate about what you do. At the end of the day, it’s not
➢ Your Habits become your VALUES, just a job, it’s a commitment to helping others. It can be demanding and challenging,
➢ Your Values become your DESTINY but also rewarding, so you need to really love what you do. It’s about having the right
- Mahatma Gandhi (Ethics of Health Care, 2019) attitude and getting up each day, excited for what lies ahead, knowing you will be
making a difference – however big or small.
HABIT 2. Good communication skills
- Stephen Covey in his book defines a habit as knowledge (why and what to do), Good health professionals will be able to communicate effectively. You won’t be
skill (how to do) and desire (want to do) sitting in front of a computer all day, you’re working with people day in, day out,
- It is a habit of regular, balanced development. building relationships. You need to be able to listen and consult with your patients
- According to St. Thomas of Aquinas, he stressed that in habit formation there and their families, understand their needs and be able to explain their care plan in a
are three kinds of conscious powers that is capable in the acquisition of way that makes sense to them so they feel valued and supported.
permanent disposition or Habit. These powers are capacities flexible enough 3. Ability to multitask
and free enough to be improved by appropriate usage. These are Intellect, Working in healthcare, you may find yourself caring for multiple patients at the one
willpower and emotion time. If you’re working as a Nurse in a hospital environment, for example, a typical
A) GOOD HABITS day might see you checking in on each of your patients, assessing their health and
- Positive behavior pattern wellbeing (both mental and physical), helping with medication, liaising with doctors
- Analogous to virtue and other nurses on their progress, and keeping up-to-date with your notes. It can be
- Virtuous persons live persistently with good habits a very busy environment, there are so many things going on at the one time, so the
❖ Habits of a Healthcare Provider ability to multitask is a must-have.
1. A disposition or condition of the body or mind acquired by custom or usual 4. Fit and active
repetition of the same act or functions It’s pretty much a given if you’re working in a healthcare role that you will be on your
2. An inclination to perform some particular action acquired by repetition feet for most of the day. You may also need to lift heavy objects from time-to-time
3. Characterized by decreased power of resistance and an increased facility of and assist your patients with getting around. So, it’s important to be physically fit.
performance 5. Good problem solving skills
❖ 7 Habits of Effective People Working in healthcare, every day is different. There’s always a new challenge or
1. Be proactive problem to solve, often in a very short amount of time. Therefore, you need to be
- Makes choices based on values and virtues able to think on your feet. You could be faced with any number of issues… The family
- Anticipates trends and works to promote their development of a patient could disagree with your care recommendations or treatment schedules
- Active in advance could change at the last minute. A good healthcare worker will be able to work
- Preventive person through a problem calmly and rationally and come up with a solution that everyone
- Thinks before act (and most importantly, your patient), is happy with.
2. Begin with an end in mind 6. Empathy and compassion
- Icon Defines his vision-mission goals Above all else, a good health professional can show compassion to their patients and
- Visionary provide comfort when they need it. At times, your patients may find themselves in
- Mission-oriented difficult or frustrating situations and they need someone to listen, to understand and
- Goal-directed respect their wishes or point of view. If you respond kindly, with empathy and
- Draws blueprint to guide him understanding, it will have a positive impact on your patient.
3. Put first things first
- One prioritizes and does the most important things first M3L3 – PATIENTS BILL OF RIGHTS
- Manages time The Rights of the Patients:
4. Think win-win 1. Right to Appropriate Medical Care and Humane Treatment
- Everybody can succeed 2. Right to Informed Consent.
- Anchored in justice and equity 3. Right to Privacy and Confidentiality.
- Everyone gets what is due 4. Right to Information.
5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood 5. The Right to Choose Health Care Provider and Facility.
- One opens himself & listen to people genuinely to understand who they are 6. Right to Self-Determination
- Listens to her heart, ears and stands in their shoes 7. Right to Religious Belief
- Practices mirroring or reflection 8. Right to Medical Records.
6. Synergize 9. Right to Leave.
- Provides unity and support 10. Right to Refuse Participation In Medical Research.
- Encourages people to 11. Right to Correspondence and to Receive Visitors.
- work together 12. Right to Express Grievances.
- teamwork 13. Right to be Informed of His Rights and Obligations as a Patient.
7. Sharpen the saw
- To take a rest or break and receive back what she has given to work
- Resting is receiving
B) BAD HABITS
- is a habitual behavior considered to be detrimental to one's physical or mental
health and often linked to a lack of self-control.
1. Wear yourself out - to take a break, or don’t get yourself too work or tired
2. Put first things last - doing the important things last, not prioritizing
3. Begin with no end in mind - means to begin each day, task, or project with a no
clear vision of your desired direction and destination
4. Think win-lose - "When one side benefits more than the other, that's a win-lose - JANINE
situation”