Four Ethical Principles In Health Care

Moral decisions are not always easy decisions to make. However, necessary means are often provided to fulfill these difficult decisions. In health care, there are certain ethical principles or guidelines that help us make the appropriate choice when it comes to giving the best care to a patient, and they help justify the purpose for providing the best care to a patient. These principles are relevant in our health care system today in order for patient care to be as appropriate and as effective as possible. Each principle has a similar goal in mind which is to help the healthcare professionals make the appropriate choice for each patient; however, each patient has its own standard when it comes to these principles. Regardless of which

Healthcare professionals should have a clear understanding from the beginning of their jobs to provide care that is catered to their patient’s needs and does no harm to their patient, yet some caretakers tend to walk the fine line between what is ethical and what is convenient. In Carolyn Buppert’s article, “Can I Prescribe for My Elderly Father?”, Buppert describes a situation involving nurse practitioners prescribing medications to family members for different reasons; nevertheless, this is a violation of the principle of justice because it is against the law to provide medications to family members without proper medical documentation (citation). Not only do ethical situations arise within the professional standpoint but also most workers who do not have day to day contact with patients do not realize that they must also provide care that follows the four principles. For instance, a chef that prepares the meals for the patients may not realize that the principle of nonmaleficence affects them, but if they were to prepare a meal that consists of nuts for a patient who has a known nut allergy, then they would be causing harm to the patient. Although the chef may not have been aware of the allergy, it is still could affect the treatment given to the patient if he or she has a reaction to the food. Although these incidences are where one principle can affect the lives of patients, there are also incidences where two principles do not integrate for the good of the patient. In cases such as Dax Cowart where he was in extreme pain, his one wish was to die; however, if he died in a way that could have been avoidable, then it would have been a violation of the principle of nonmaleficence, but if the patient wants to die, then it was support the principle of