By Atnasiya G 1

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

04/01/2022
 Contents
2

1.0. Introduction
1.1. Definition of terms
1.2. History of medical laboratory science
1.3. Classification of ethics
1.4 Theory of ethics
1.5. Principles of ethics
1.6. Characteristics of professional and ethical
behavior

By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 Course objectives
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At the end of this session you will be able to

 Define ethics, Profession (professional,
professionalism), Behavior, Moral, Legal practice,
Common law, Civil law, Court, Precedent, Medical
Laboratory Science
 Discuss the history of medical laboratory science

By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 Cont..
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Discuss the different types of ethics



Discuss principles of ethics



List the characteristics of professional and ethical



behavior

By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 Introduction
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Ethics
 Derived from the Greek word ethos, meaning custom
or character
 Is a major branch of philosophy which study values
and customs of a person or group
 Is concerned with what is right or wrong, good or bad,
fair or unfair

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 Cont..
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 Professional ethics concerns one’s conduct of behavior and

practice when carrying out professional work
Profession
 Occupation, practice, or vocation requiring mastery
of a complex set of knowledge and skills through
formal education and/or practical experience.
 All professions are an occupations, but not all occupations are
professions. why?

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 Cont..
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Professional
A person who agrees to and commits his/her
commitment to the profession they chose.
Professionalism
The actions of the members of a profession based
on the accepted code of conduct

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 Cont..
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• Code of Conduct
 Is a set of rules outlining the norms, rules, and
responsibilities of proper practice of an individual
organization or profession
 Moral
 From the Latin word moralitas means “manner, character, proper
behavior”.
 In its descriptive use, morals are arbitrarily and subjectively created
by society, philosophy, religions, and/or individual conscience.

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 Ethics vs. moral
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 Both are related to ‘’right’’ and ‘’wrong’’ conduct.

 However, ethics refers to series of rules provided to
an individual by an external source.
 Moral refers to an individual’s own principle
regarding right and wrong.

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 Cont..
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 Common law
 A system of law based on custom, tradition, and court
decision rather than on written legislation.
 Precedent

Precedent
 An action or decision that can be used subsequently
as an example for a similar decision or to justify a
similar action
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 Medical Laboratory Science

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A profession characterized by its own internally-

defined body of Knowledge and Scope of Practice
A profession with people educated in basic and
medical sciences, medical techniques and research
methods

By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 History of MLS
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 First medical diagnosis made by humans were

based on what physician could observe with their
eyes.
 The oldest known test on body fluid was done on
urine in ancient time (before 400BC).
 The emergence of sophisticated diagnostic
technique and the laboratories that housed them
was begun in 19th century.

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 Cont..
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Formal training programs began in mid-1920s

 From 1940-1960 development of automation and

increased knowledge expanded laboratory testing

capabilities and created demand for academically
organized medical laboratory science programs was
began.

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 Cont..
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 In Ethiopia, training program in medical laboratory

technology/ science began in 1954 at Institute de
Pasteur currently named as Ethiopian Health and
Nutrition Research Institute (EHNRI).
 Today, MLS is a well-developed body of
knowledge that includes basic and medical
sciences, medical techniques, and research
methods.

By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 Types of Ethics
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 Descriptive: It is the description of the values and beliefs of

various cultural, religious or social groups about good or bad.
 Normative: a study of human activities in a broad sense in an
attempt to identify human actions that are right or wrong and
good or bad qualities.
 Applied/Professional ethics: the study of the use/apply
of ethical theory to real-life situations
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 2. Ethical theories
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 Ethical theories may help us to view an ethical

problem.
 There are two general ethical theories:
1. Deontology (Duty or rule-Based theory)

2. Teleology (utilitarian or end based theory)

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 1. Deontology (Duty or rule-Based theory)
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 This theory proposes that the rightness or wrongness of an

action depends on the nature of the act rather than its
consequences.
 This theory holds that you are acting rightly when you act
according to duties and rights.

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 feature of deontological ethical theories:

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1.Deontological ethical theories are non- consequentialist

 Consequentialists will argue that whether an action is right
or wrong depends upon the consequences of this action.
 Where as deontologists argue that it is not necessarily the
case that an action’s rightness or wrongness depends upon
the consequences.

By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 Cont ….
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For example,
some right actions do not bring about the best
consequences &
 some wrong actions that produce good consequences
ought not to be performed

By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 2.Teleology (utilitarian or end based theory)

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This theory looks to the consequences of an action in judging

whether that action is right or wrong.
According to the utilitarian school of thought, right action is that
which has greatest utility or usefulness.
 Utilitarian hold that no action in itself is good or bad, the only
factors that make actions good or bad are the outcomes, or end
results that are derived from them.
Morality of an action consists of the ratio of good to evil that the
action produces. By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 Class of telological theories
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1. Hedonism
 The rightness and wrongness of an action depend

upon the amount/ quality of physical pleasure and

physical pain.
2. Epicureanism
 The right action promotes mental/spiritual pleasure

and minimise mental/spiritual pain.

By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 Cont..
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3. Egoism
 The action is right if it promotes the personal interest of

the agent.
 May prefere Unpleasant and Painful experience and

temporary sacrifice If this will advance their long term

happiness.
4. Utilitarianism
 The rightness of an action is depend Upon how useful

or beneficial it is, as opposed to how useless or harmful

it is.
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 Cont..
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 An action is good when it promotes the greatest

amount of happiness for greatest number of people.

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 Types of Utilitarian Theories

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 Act utilitarianism: Suggests that people choose actions that

will in any given circumstances increase the over all-good.

 Rule utilitarianism: Suggests that people choose rules that

when followed consistently will maximize the overall good.

By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 Ethical principles
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 principles are basic ideas that are starting points for

understanding and working through a problem.

 Ethical principles presuppose that ML professionals

should respect the value and uniqueness of persons
and consider others to be worthy of high regard

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 principles of medical ethics
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 Autonomy
 Beneficence
 Confidentiality
 Do no harm (Non maleficence)
 Equity ( Justice)
 Fidelity
 Veracity

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 1.Autonomy
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 Autonomy is the promotion of independent choice,

self determination and freedom of action.

 Patient autonomy refers to the patient’s right to make

decision for them selves.

 Patient education and informed consent are

important element of autonomy.

By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 Informed consent
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 A process by which a subject voluntarily confirms his or

her willingness to participate in a particular trial, after
having been informed of all aspects of the trial that are
relevant to the subject’s decision to participate
 It assures the legal protection of a patient’s right to
personal autonomy in regard to specific treatments and
procedures.
By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 Consent in the case of minors
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 A minor is usually regarded as a person under

the age of 18 years who requires the consent
of his or her parent or guardian to enter into
certain legal agreements.

 Others
• Mentally Disabled/Impaired

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 Paternalism
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 It is acting a way that is believed to protect the patient even if

acting in this way goes against the person’s own immediate
desire or limits the persons freedom of choice.
 Restricting others autonomy to protect from perceived or
anticipated harm.
 Paternalism is appropriate when the patient is judged to be
incompetent or to have diminished decision making capacity
(e.g. Children, unconscious patients and mentally illed persons)
By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 2. Beneficence( do good)
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 Beneficence is doing or promoting good.

 This principle is the basis for all health care providers.

The principle of beneficence has three components:

 Promote health
 Prevent harm
 Remove evil
 It is not euthanasia

By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 3. Confidentiality
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 Confidentiality comes from Latin fide: trust.

 Confide as to “show trust by imparting secrets”;
 a secret or private matter not to be disclosed to others”.
 Confidentiality in the health care context is the requirement
of health professionals (HPs) to keep information obtained
in the course of their work.
 When do you “ violate” confidentiality?
By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 4. Do no harm (nonmaleficence)
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 Non-maleficence is the converse of beneficence.

 It means to avoid doing harm.
 It is to avoid causing deliberate harm, risk of
harm, and harm that occurs during the
performance of beneficial acts. E.g. infection
prevention while drawing venous blood
By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 5. Equity(Justice)
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 Justice is fair, equitable and appropriate treatment

 It is the basis for the obligation to treat all clients in
an equal and fair way.
 Decision is based on client need and fair distribution
of resources.

By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 Cont..
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 It would be unjust to make such decision based on

how much he or she likes each client
 Any health professional should treat all the patients
equally irrespective of gender, culture, race, religion,

language, social status and political status.

By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 6. Fidelity
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 Fidelity means being faithful to one's

commitments and promises.
 Accountablity

 Lab technologist commitment to clients

include providing safe care and maintaining

competence in the practice.

By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022
 7. Veracity
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 Veracity (honesty) means telling the truth. Revealing all

relevant details of patients condition, as well as the risk
and benefits of procedures.
 Health care providers obliged to be honest with clients.
 The right to self-determination becomes meaningless if
the client does not receive accurate, unbiased, and
understandable information.
By Atnasiya G 04/01/2022