The Pillars Of Medical Ethics: Dr Julian Sargon-Ungar
Medical ethics has been a subject of discussion for centuries. It is one of the most important pillars that keep our society upright, and it’s an area of study that anyone can learn about and benefit from.
Nonmaleficence
Nonmaleficence is the principle of not causing harm. Dr Julian Sargon-Ungar It’s also known as “do no harm,” but this phrase can be misleading because it implies that you should never cause any kind of harm to another person.
This is not true: sometimes it’s necessary for doctors and other healthcare providers to cause some level of discomfort or pain in order to help their patients. For example, if a doctor needs to give you an injection that will hurt a little bit but make you feel better overall, then causing this brief amount of pain is justified because it has greater benefits than any potential harms involved in administering the injection (in this case).
The key here is balance, says Dr Julian Sargon-Ungar –you want your actions during medical treatment (and outside medicine) to have more benefits than risks for everyone involved.
Beneficence
The first pillar of medical ethics is called beneficence, which means doing the right thing for your patient. You should always try to do what’s best for your patient and society as a whole.
You might be wondering what exactly constitutes doing the right thing? There are many ways to approach this question, but one way is by looking at the four principles of beneficence:
• Do no harm (nonmaleficence)
• Maximize potential benefits and minimize potential harms (beneficence)
• Avoid conflict of interest or situations that could lead to it; avoid self-dealing; disclose all relevant information 4) Be honest with clients in all communications
Justice
Justice is the principle that all people should have equal access to health care. Justice is also the principle that doctors should not treat people differently because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, or income.
Justice means giving everyone the same treatment regardless of their background or circumstances. For example, if you’re rich and white and someone else isn’t it’s unjust if they get worse treatment than you do just because of this fact–that’s why justice is such an important part of medical ethics!