Major principles that pertain ethics include justice, nonmaleficence , beneficence and respect of autonomy. They relate to healthcare in that they guide the interaction between patients and healthcare providers. They hence provide a safe environment for the stakeholders concerned.
Autonomy stresses on the need to respect one’s sovereignty. This entails allowing one the independence to make decisions that pertain their health (Winter, Sebastian & Stefan, 2018). One of the examples of the above is allowing one to choose whether they will be treated after diagnosis or not.
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The principle of Beneficence entails the personal obligation to ensure a good outcome in all undertakings (Shaha et al., 2018). An example of the above is a nurse ensuring correct communication to patients to ensure they are confident of the services offered to them. When a nurse lies, for example, the patient might act drastically, hence affecting themselves.
Justice entails fairness. In healthcare, nurses and medical practitioners, in general, are expected to treat all the patients equally regardless of their social status, education level, ethnicity as well as other aspects that could act as a ground for discrimination. This is a requirement both in the public as well as in the private sector. An example of the above is while hiring employees for a given hospital, a medical officer must be fair in offering the interviewees the jobs. Selection criteria should not be subjective. An equal opportunity should be given to all regardless of their backgrounds.
Nonmaleficence states that harm should be avoided whenever possible. When it is completely impossible to avoid it, then the risk should be minimized to the lowest level possible. Also, the principle holds that it is wrong to misuse or wrongfully utilize resources that could be put into good use. An example of a breach of this principle is where a nurse, misdiagnoses a patient, hence, offering the wrong prescription. This increases the likelihood of the patient’s condition deteriorating.
References
Shaha, K. K., Patra, A. P., Chaudhari, V. A., Das, S., & Das, S. K. (2018). A review on Applications of Principles of Medical Ethics in the Practice of Surgery. South-East Asian Journal of Medical Education , 12 (1).
Winter, S. F., & Winter, S. F. (2018). Human dignity as leading principle in public health ethics: a multi-case analysis of 21st century German health policy decisions. International journal of health policy and management , 7 (3), 210.
