Comparison of Codes of Ethics - Essay Example

Several of these values are reflected in the AAPHERD (2011) code of ethics for health educators as well. For instance, Section 2 of Article 1 emphasizes that health educators take action and adopt policies that maximize the benefits and minimize the risks to the health of all the stakeholders involved. Similarly, Section 6 states that health educators are “ethically bound to respect, assure, and protect the privacy, confidentiality, and dignity of individuals.” The code of ethics of elder care develops principles for increasing accountability toward clients and the public, the education of care providers, assistance in the resolution of ethical dilemmas, and an institutional mechanism for reviewing complaints.

The (AAPHERD, 2011) code of ethics for health educators also stresses responsibility towards the public, responsibility towards the profession, responsibility towards employers, responsibility in the delivery of health education, responsibility in research and education, and responsibility in professional preparation. Both codes of ethics aim at building a set of standards for determining whether professional responsibilities toward various stakeholders have been met. The issue of autonomy is dealt with in both codes of ethics. . This illustrates the balancing act professionals need to play between autonomy and paternalism.

Chin (2002) explains how patient autonomy is becoming more important in today’s world. Since society has become increasingly pluralistic over time, value systems are not consistent from group to group and it becomes increasingly difficult to expect that patients would accept the decisions of the health professional passively. The need to balance autonomy with paternalism is also stated in the code of ethics for elder care. It states that a well-trained geriatric care provider is respectful to his clients and gives them importance as complete individuals each having his own cultural identity, narrative, and personal history.

He respects the rights of his client which include the right to privacy and at the same time tries hard to balance his client’s need for protection/safety and his autonomy. Points of Contrast An important point of difference between the two codes of ethics is the role of autonomy and paternalism in dealing with the client. Tan (2001) summarizes some useful aspects of paternalism developed by James Childress. Pure paternalism consists of actions that benefit an individual while impure paternalism benefits more people.

Positive paternalism produces beneficial results while negative paternalism prevents harm to the client. In the case of health educators, the clients are students who depend on educators for professional knowledge and can be expected to think rationally. According to Alonso (1996), institutionalized sharing of knowledge is a basic requirement of a professional.