Importance of ethics in a global environment - Assignment Example

Importance of ethics in a global environment Alexander Heatrice II DDS A.T. Still HMP870 Global Health Ethics Jaana Gold, DDS, PhD 30 November 2011 Ethics in a global prospective refers to globally accepted behavior, actions and beliefs which governs the human behavior. In health care, ethic deals with the relationship between practitioners and patients. There are set of a principle that governs the behavior of medical practitioners. The principles are essential in ensuring that medical practitioners work at the required limits.

According to Thomas McCormick (1994), the principles are there to ensure that a medical practitioner does not inflict pain or harm to a patient (par. 2). There are four major principles in medical ethics. The first principle acknowledges the value of autonomy, in which individuals are granted the right to self-determination. Self-determination gives the patient the right to make decisions regarding their health matters. This principle is vital as the patient gives the final word about his or her health.

The medical practitioner is deterred from deciding on his or her behalf. Medical practitioners are bound to respect the wishes of their patients regardless of the situation. The patient is supposed to have an informed consent. Informed consent refers to a situation whereby the patient is fully informed on matters regarding his or her health. The medical practitioner should not withhold any information that concerns the patient. The patient has the right to understand his or her situation, explicitly understand the risks linked with his or her condition.

In addition, the patient should be allowed to participate fully in decisions based on the provided information (Edwards, 1998). In my opinion, it is very essential for the medical practitioners to disclose all the information concerning their health. In this case, the patients will be able to make sound decisions from the information provided by the practitioners, especially where risky operations need to be carried out. Principle of Nonmaleficence dictates the conduct of practitioners. In this case, this principle depicts that all aspects of life of life are governed by a rigid moral rule.

The practitioners are bound by the principle not to intentionally inflict harm or injury to a patient either by omission or commission (McCormick, 1998). The patient should not be subjected to unnecessary medical procedures. Also, practitioners are not supposed to neglect their patient in time of need. This means that medical practitioners have a duty to a patient, and thus, the practitioner may not in any way breach the duty. This principle is significant as it ties the practitioner to injured or affected parties.

In my point of view, this principle is remarkably pivotal as it governs the attitude of the medical practitioners whereby they are obligated to take absolute care of the infected or the injured patients. Health care should focus its ability on the benefit of a patient. In this case, beneficence principle ensures that this target is arrived at. Beneficence principle confines medical practitioners into providing the best medical care to any patient. If a patient experiences injuries, it is the work of the practitioner to ensure that the patient’s wounds are attended to, and the outcome is satisfactory.

It is from the principle of beneficence that the theory of utilitarian is based. The principle aims at achieving the greatest good for the people in such a way that people will benefit from the medical services offered. In my viewpoint, the principle of beneficence is crucial as it enable the medical practitioners to focus on all means that would be of the patient’s good or benefit. The last is the principle of justice. This principle ensures that medical practitioners perform their duties on basis of fairness with equality and without discrimination.

Therefore, this principle ensures that all patients are treated equally regarding their health or any other issue which may result to discrimination during treatment such as race and sex among others. Principle of justice guarantees that the society is the beneficiary of health care, and no one is subjected to limited health care. This principle is important as patients are treated fairly regardless of their ability to pay. In my perception, the principle of justice is very pivotal not only in the medical field, but also in other fields that are very essential for human beings, this because, it enhances equal treatment of people regardless of the financial status and health status among other factors.

Ethics is important to a society. Ethics dictates the well being of the society. Most importantly, ethics is essential in the creation of credibility between professions (Strickling, n.d.). Professions will be governed by their moral values. Ethics will govern the decisions professions make in an organizational setting. Ethics also provides a commitment to professionals. In conclusion, the above described principles of ethics are remarkably essential in the global environment since they enable medical practitioners to focus on what would benefit their patients.

References Edwards, A, K, (1998), Informed Consent, Retrieved from http://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/consent.html McCormick, R, T, (1998), Principles of Bioethics, Retrieved from http://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/tools/princpl.html Strickling, B, L, (n.d.), A Moral Basis for the Helping Profession, Retrieved from http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Bioe/BioeStri.htm