chapter 6

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Medical Ethics
Health professionals are bound by medical ethics. There are ethical principles that apply to medical ethics. The ethical principles are justice, beneficence, non-maleficence, and autonomy. An ethical medical practice must respect all the four ethical principles. These principles ensure that patients make informed decisions, privacy is guaranteed, and no medical practice that harms the patient or any other person in society. “Chapter 6” explains how ethical principles apply to medical ethics, challenges of informed consent and self-determination, evaluation of ethical issues in physician-assisted death and euthanasia.
Doctors are expected to adequately help patients comprehend their situation. Patients, therefore, should have enough information before they make a decision. Physicians are mandated to give all essential situations for autonomous choice in others. Autonomy is an ethical principle that doctors must apply as they perform their duties. Patients visit doctors to gather information that helps them in making an informed decision. Maintaining privacy and confidentiality is respect to autonomy and hence medical ethics. An example of how doctors can promote autonomous behavior; before taking a patient into surgery, the doctor must first give an explanation to the patient concerning the treatment options, and the risks of each option so that the patient make a decision.
Doctors are not supposed to engage in a practice that may cause harm to the patient.

In other words, Physicians are expected to help improve the state of others. This is one of the medical ethics that relies on beneficence ethical principle. However, an ethical dilemma may be experienced when the doctor’s beneficent choice contradicts patient’s autonomous decision. An example is when a patient with pneumonia decides to reject antibiotics. Doctors have to accept patient’s autonomous decision. However, Physician can advise the patient. Therefore, ethical principles bring about complex medical ethics that doctors must adhere to.
In medical practice, informed consent is a concept of ethics and consequently medical ethics. Informed consent gives patients liberty and caring relationships when making a medical decision regardless of patient’s gender. Informed consent gives patients right to reject medical treatment recommendation. In the informed consent, patients are considered competent even when the patient is mentally ill and therefore can reject or accept treatment proposals. Even when the patient’s choice appears foolish or dangerous, health care providers have to respect and accept the patient’s choice. When a person rejects the doctor’s proposals, perhaps he or she may have found a better alternative. Therefore, it doesn’t mean that the person is incapable of making a medical decision or the doctor failed to give the person enough information (DeSpelder and Strickland 204).
When a patient is terminally ill, he or she experience much pain until the body gives up. Such patients can’t commit suicide though they may wish to die. Therefore, there is a physician-assisted death in the case of such situations. The practice is authorized by Oregon and Vermont Death with Dignity Acts in Washington (DeSpelder and Strickland 216). Physician aid-in-dying occurs when a doctor provides medication to a patient who is willing to die. However, Euthanasia is illegal since it is a third party who provides medication for terminating patient’s life.
In “Chapter 6,” many concepts, hard decisions and medical ethical challenges are explained. Medical ethics dictates free and uninfluenced agreement between the patients and the doctors. Doctors must always accept patient’s decision. The medical ethical principles may at times provide a complex ethical dilemma. Patients have the right to choose death, reject doctor’s medical recommendation or accept the medical recommendations at will.
Works Cited
DeSpelder, Lynne A, and Albert L. Strickland. The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying. Mayfield Pub. Co, 1996.