Frameworks for Ethical Analysis Flashcards
What is consequentialism?
- an action is right if it promotes the best consequences
- consequences morally evaluated and ranked
What is an example of consequentialism?
- utilitarianism
- picks most ethical choice that produces the most good for the greatest number
What is deontology?
- an action is right if it is in accord with a moral rule or principle
- duties and rights based morality
What is an example of deontology?
- the belief that killing someone is wrong even in self defense
What is virtue ethics?
- an action is right if it is what a virtuous agent would do in the circumstances
What are the 4 principles of medical ethics?
- autonomy
- beneficence
- non-maleficence
- justice
What are the 4 components of the 4 quadrant approach to ethics?
- medical indications
- patient preferences
- quality of life
- contextual features
What are the considerations in the medical indications quadrant?
consider each medical condition and its proposed treatment:
- does it fulfill any of the goals of medicine
- with what likeliehood?
- if not is it worth doing?
What are the considerations in the patient preferences quadrant?
- what does the patient want?
- does the patient have the capacity to decide?
- if not can anyone advocate for the patient?
- do the patient’s wishes reflect a process that is:
- informed?
- understood?
- voluntary?
- continuing?
What are the steps of a structured case analysis?
- summarise case/problem
- state moral dilemma
- state assumptions being made
- analyse case
- acknowledge other approaches and state the preferred approach with explanation
What are the considerations in the quality of life quadrant?
Consider the patient’s quality of life in the patient’s terms and in the perspective of the care providers
What are the considerations in the contextual features quadrant?
Consider circumstances that can influence the decision or be influenced by the decision
