PROFESSIONAL

ETHICS
2019
 Professionalism
• Professional is derived from the latin term professionem (nominative
professio) which means a public declaration or to confess. It denotes that
one is claiming to declare that one is skilled or competent in a particular
field enough to be receive the title of professional
 Professionalism
• Professionalism is the art of practicing ones skills in such a manner that
distinguishes that individual from the ordinary man.
• It is based on the expectations that the professional has obligations to
others and has to behave in a manner that honors those obligations above
self
 Professionalism
• Professionalism speaks to the conduct of the individual. Professionalism
encompasses etiquette and ethics of a profession. These are usually the
rules or codes of conduct unique to the particular profession. It is
imperative that health professionals get familiarized with the codes of
conduct governing his profession.
 Professionalism

• 1. Attire- Generational gaps eg young rxcist dress for work

• 2. Appearance – Confident and approachable
• 3. Attitude – Difficult customer/ Aptitude -
• 4. Access- Do not let technician do the work etc……
• 5. Accountability
• 6. Competent and current in knowledge.
 Professional autonomy

• Professional autonomy refers to the “right and privilege provided by a

governmental entity to a class of professionals, and to each qualified
licensed caregiver within that profession, to provide services independent
of supervision
 Professional autonomy

• This privilege given to any professional is on the basis that the individual
is (a) competent, (b) current and (c) patient-centered
 Professional autonomy

• It is important to distinguish professional autonomy from paternalism as

this has a negative connotation in that the health professional when being
paternalistic may make decisions on behalf of the patient by deliberately
withholding information or at times being deceptive because it is thought
that this is in the best interest of the patient.
 Professional autonomy
• Although, paternalism is an offshoot of professional autonomy, it is not
ethically acceptable for any health professional to be deceptive albeit for
the patient’s good.
• This is because it infringes on the patient’s right to autonomy (self-
determination).
 Professional autonomy
• professional autonomy is a right and privilege that may be exercised with
the involvement of the patient for the patient’s good, while paternalism,
most times is the professional acting independent of the patient also
thinking it is for the patient’s good
 Professional autonomy
• Professional autonomy may be restricted at times by institutional policies
as well as inter-professional conflicts. An example of this may be a health
professional having to use only the drugs listed on a hospital formulary to
treat patients even when it may be thought that the drug is not the best one
for the individual.
 case
• Intern GK is a young pharmacy graduate who is excited about embarking starting the year long process
to becoming a registered pharmacist. She was assigned to the in- patient department and met the very
stern senior pharmacist. While packing the drugs, GK realized that the several of the items were expired
and some of them were substituted according to class and not based on generic substitution. GK was
perplexed and asked the resident pharmacist if this was legal. The pharmacist shrugged her shoulders
and responded, when in Rome do as the romans do. This is what we get so we have to give what we get,
free healthcare means we don’t have a big enough budget to buy drugs all the time and although they
are expired they are still good. Also a painkiller is still painkiller so ibuprofen is the same as diclofenac
so we just substitute. GK then asked if the doctors and the patients are informed of the substitutions and
the expired goods. Pharmacist responded are you crazy….you want the media all over us….as long as
you know the patients are not going to get sick, just give it to them. They won’t know the difference
and it’s a win-win rather than let them go home without medication.”
 CASE
• Using the of biomedical issues, what are the ethical issues?
• How would you resolve these?
 Who is the client?

• The client is anyone with whom the professional has entered a relationship for the use of
the service offered by the professional.
• In medicine, the term patient is used because that person is the one whom is in receipt of
medical care.
• There are times however, when the client is not the patient and conflicts can arise between
serving both the client and the patient. This is an important distinction because legally, the
professional has both a legal and ethical duty of care to the patient as well as the client.
Some examples may be that of a minor and a parent as well as an elderly patient and a
caregiver or an incompetent individual and his/her surrogate decision maker.
 The compromised professional

• A professional can become compromised in physical and mental

competence due to various challenges such as: mental illness, drugs
abuse; stress; workplace apathy; marital and financial conflicts. When any
professional becomes compromised then his/her ability to execute at the
highest standards may be affected. This is very worrisome for the health
professional where mistakes can be deadly. Once a health professional is
compromised to the extent that patients may be at risk, that individual will
be expected to allow someone else to care for his patients