Medical ethics is an integral part of the theory of medicine. This part is essential and is not inferior to the need to study other basics of medicine. While receiving an education, every medical worker becomes familiar with the norms and requirements of this field. This paper explains the term ethics, its importance, and a description of its four constituent parts.
Medical ethics are the most generalized concepts of morality or ethical category for medical workers formulated as beneficence, justice, autonomy, and non-maleficence. Physicians must observe the principles of medical ethics in their daily activities. These principles are significant and necessary because they are a fundamental part of the medical profession that saves millions of lives. A medical worker has to provide assistance to the patient at the highest professional level and never participate in actions directed against the people’s physical and mental health. The range of medical ethics issues also includes problems on the successful solution of which the health and life of current and future generations depend. These include the struggle for peace, the struggle against the creation and accumulation of weapons of mass destruction, and the protection of the environment.
As it has already been mentioned, there are four categories of ethics in medicine: beneficence, justice, non-maleficence and autonomy. Firstly, beneficence means acting in the best interests of society. For example, the doctor cannot prescribe medications to the patient knowing that they can affect him negatively. Secondly, justice is the medical ethics principle that when weighing up if something is ethical or not, people have to think about whether it is compatible with the law, the patient’s rights, and if it is fair and balanced (Nineham, 2021). Standards of medical care, which include the cost of all services to the patient in following a specific diagnosis and necessary survey, are an example of justice. Thirdly, non-maleficence claims that the doctor is obliged not to allow harm to the patient. For instance, in case of unforeseen complications during the surgery, the doctor does everything possible to prevent injury to the patient. Fourthly, autonomy means that patients have the ultimate decision-making responsibility for their treatment because they control themselves independently (Nineham, 2021). For example, when the doctor prescribes treatment, the patient is free to choose the most appropriate method.
In my opinion, the most vital principle is non-maleficence. Every qualified doctor is obliged to treat their patients, regardless of the difficulty of the case. They should understand all possible risks and be able to prevent them correctly, and this is the reason why it is vital. What is more, non-maleficence is used in exceptionally intricated cases, which is a complicating factor in its application.
Reference
Nineham, L. (2021). Medical Ethics – The Four Pillars Explained. The Medic Portal. Web.