Download Document

HA405: Leadership and Ethics in
Health Care
Week 2 Seminar
School of Health Science
Week 2 Seminar

In this week’s seminar we will cover:




Autonomy
Non-Maleficence and Beneficence
Justice
Looking forward to Unit 3
Moral Integrity
 Code of Ethics and Administrative Practice


Conclusion
School of Health Science
Autonomy






Autonomy is one of the four major principles of
health care ethics
Supported by the teachings of Frankl and based
on the belief that all people have worth and
should be given respect and self determination
Goes hand in hand with informed consent
Autonomy is also practiced when information
about a person’s health, family or status is kept
private
People deserve to know the truth about their
conditions, so autonomy arises in this area as well
Finally autonomy calls for keeping your word and
promises to others
School of Health Science
Non-Maleficence and Beneficence


Non-maleficence and beneficence are two parallel
principles of ethics
Non-maleficence, meaning “do no harm” has been
upheld as both a medical standard and a legal
practice


The “do no harm” standard is extended to patients
and staff
Beneficence is another aspect of the health care
industry



Patients expect to be treated with kindness and
charity and that the health care organization will
act in their best interest
An atmosphere of caring should be extended to
staff members as well
If the staff is treated with caring it increases the
odds that they will treat the patients in that
manner as well School of Health Science
Justice


In a health care setting justice is concerned with
doing what is perceived to be fair or deserved
This may be difficult in practice because patients
may have an idealized view of what justice is





This happens because the health care system is a
business and many factors must be balanced
Health care providers must be able to maintain the
proper the fair distribution of justice to all patients
Do not forget the importance of your position as a
health care administrator when it comes to staff
justice as well
Even small things done carelessly can be seen as
unfair
Staff should receive the same level of fairness
that is given to patients
School of Health Science
Looking Forward



In Unit 3 we will be looking at Moral
Integrity and Code of Ethics and
Administrative Practice
To get you started we will begin a brief
discussion on these topics
You will read and review chapters 13
and 14 on these topics
School of Health Science
Moral Integrity


In Chapter 13: Moral Integrity, we will learn
about ideas that present what it means to be a
moral administration in a challenging
environment
There is no absolute definition of morality, but
experts agree on certain themes





Morality can be seen as everyday behavior that
allow us to live successfully with one another
Morality includes concepts like values and duties
Personal Morality includes the values and duties
that you hold independent of work or social
groups
People must not only make the best moral
choice for the situation, but must also be
responsible for the choice you made
The chapter also explores what happens when
professionals loose
their
compass
School
of Healthmoral
Science
Code of Ethics and Administrative
Practice



In Chapter 14, we will explore the Code of
Ethics and Administrative Practice
We will learn the importance of maintaining a
code of ethics and why many professional
organizations adopt a formal code of ethics
A code of ethics is necessary because as health
care professionals you will face situations
where there is no clear cut solution


Codes of Ethics are tools to give you greater
guidance when faced with these issues
Codes of ethics also serve as prevention tools
that set boundaries for acceptable behavior
School of Health Science
Conclusion




Remember the role autonomy plays in
your interactions with patients and staff
You have a duty to “do no harm” to both
patients and staff
A health Care Administrator has to make
sure justice and fairness occurs across the
board
Carefully read the chapters on moral
integrity and ethics and administrative
practice
School of Health Science