...Title: Medical Ethics: History and Guiding Principles Author: Alan J. McGoldrick Course: Medicine, Disease and History Instructor: Professor Foss Date: June 15, 2012 Medical ethics are the moral guidelines and ethical laws that help to prioritize a medical professional's work responsibilities. The code of medical ethics outlines the proper conduct between medical professionals and their patients, communities, and colleagues. Each country has a different code of medical ethics, though most contain the same basic principles, and all share the same history of evolution, according to the World Medical Association. Medical ethics refers to the discussion and application of moral values and responsibilities in the areas of medical practice and research. While questions of medical ethics have been debated since the beginnings of Western medicine in the fifth century B.C., medical ethics as a distinctive field came into prominence only since World War II. (Porter, 1998) This change has come about largely as a result of advances in medical technology, scientific research, and telecommunications. These developments have affected nearly every aspect of clinical practice, from the confidentiality of patient records to end-of-life issues. Moreover, the increased involvement of government in medical research as well as the allocation of health care resources brings with it an additional set of ethical questions. Emerging Medical Ethics Through the Ages Ancient Medical Texts ...
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...are established ethical principles to protect human participants in biomedical research from undue exploitation by researchers. However, in the “Tuskegee Study” in the US, these principles were grossly violated. The task of this paper is to critically examine the ethical implications of that study on future practices in biomedical research, and to suggest ways of ensuring that such practices comply with appropriate ethical values. Key Words Bioethics, Biomedical research, clinical research, Tuskegee Study, paternalism, morality Introduction From time to time human beings experience health challenges, whether physical or mental. On its part, medical practice has made considerable progress towards combating or controlling many of these challenges. It is through research that the nature, symptoms and effects of ailments can be ascertained and remedies discovered. Medical researchers engage in both therapeutic and non-therapeutic research. Therapeutic research is that carried out with the purpose of treating disease. On the other hand, non-therapeutic research is aimed at 76 Adebayo A. Ogungbure furthering the frontiers of knowledge about human health. Furthermore, researchers and physicians often use human beings as objects of scientific investigation, raising certain ethical concerns, including the issue of informed consent and how consent is obtained, selection of participants in research, the welfare of human subjects involved in...
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...Iranian Journal of Public Health Tehran University of Medical Sciences The Code of Ethics for Nurses F Zahedi, M Sanjari, [...], and M Vahid Dastgerdi Additional article information Abstract Nurses are ever-increasingly confronted with complex concerns in their practice. Codes of ethics are fundamental guidance for nursing as many other professions. Although there are authentic international codes of ethics for nurses, the national code would be the additional assistance provided for clinical nurses in their complex roles in care of patients, education, research and management of some parts of health care system in the country. A national code can provide nurses with culturally-adapted guidance and help them to make ethical decisions more closely to the Iranian-Islamic background. Given the general acknowledgement of the need, the National Code of Ethics for Nurses was compiled as a joint project (2009–2011). The Code was approved by the Health Policy Council of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and communicated to all universities, healthcare centers, hospitals and research centers early in 2011. The focus of this article is on the course of action through which the Code was compiled, amended and approved. The main concepts of the code will be also presented here. No doubt, development of the codes should be considered as an ongoing process. This is an overall responsibility to keep the codes current, updated with the new progresses of science and emerging...
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...The Tuskegee Research Study on Syphilis Stephan J. Skotko University of Phoenix January 13, 2010 HCS-435 Ethics: Health Care and Social Responsibility Edward Casey Every person or family member who has faced a medical crisis during his or her lifetime has at one point hoped for an immediate cure, a process that would deter any sort of painful or prolonged convalescence. Medical research always has paralleled a cure or treatment. From the beginning of the turn of the 20th century the most unspeakable appalling atrocities against human beings was The Tuskegee Syphilis Study. One of the most horrendous breaches of ethics in The United States history is Tuskegee’s studies and associated research. . The study and the publicity that surrounded the study was one of the major influences leading to the organized arrangement of laws, rules and principles of the ethical treatment for human beings. Examples of which include; informed consent, patients personal autonomy, patients’ bill of rights, medical code of ethics, and limits to a practitioners professional autonomy. Miracle cures like penicillin and other antibiotics have proven the value of research. Many illnesses and diseases are currently under heavy research. Although not much research can give results that penicillin or other antibiotics have attained does not invalidate the necessity of research and the importance of it. There exist copious treatments...
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...Conflict Between Research and Ethics Paper Conflict Between Research and Ethics Paper HCS/435 Katherine Rossiter September 12, 2010 Conflict Between Research and Ethics Paper This paper will share an opinion of the conflicts that exist between medical research and ethics in the subject matter of patients with mental retardation with medical condition such as hepatitis. In this paper the discussion of patient consent, benefits to patient, society, and medical professionals; therapeutic research; and research outcomes. Also this paper will discuss the potential role of institutional compliance and ethics committees, potential responsibilities of management, and the managerial approach one might have taken if one were in a position of power. When talking about patient consent there is many different types of consent. To name a few types of consent, incapacitated, decision-making capacity, surrogate healthcare decision maker, informed consent, expressed consent, and implied consent. When dealing with incapacitated consent this means that the patient is lacking the ability to make a reasonable medical judgment. In this type of consent there would be a surrogate decision maker appointed. Also in an incapacitated patient that has come in from an accident there would be an implied consent this would mean that the hospital staff would do whatever they had to do to sustain life. Decision-making capacity is one where the patient has full knowledge of what they want to be...
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...Code of Research Conduct and Research Ethics Code of Research Conduct and Research Ethics Foreword by Pro-Vice Chancellor Research The University of Nottingham‟s Code of Research Conduct and Research Ethics provides a comprehensive framework for good research conduct and the governance of all research carried out across the University. The Code underpins the University‟s commitment to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, rigour and excellence in all aspects of our research and for all research to be conducted according to the appropriate ethical, legal and professional frameworks and standards. The Code is a fundamental component of the research environment which is characterised by our culture of research integrity, good research practice, and the development and training of researchers at all stages of their careers. The Code outlines the duty of researchers including their responsibilities towards all participants and subjects of research including humans, animals, the environment and cultural materials, and it provides a basis for the transparent and appropriate communication and dissemination of research findings. The University welcomes the national framework for good research conduct and governance published as the Concordat to Support Research Integrity and endorses the Concordat as a recipient of public funding for research. This Code has been reviewed to be consistent with the commitments and aims of the Concordat and is the basis for applying...
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...established ethical principles to protect human participants in biomedical research from undue exploitation by researchers. However, in the “Tuskegee Study” in the US, these principles were grossly violated. The task of this paper is to critically examine the ethical implications of that study on future practices in biomedical research, and to suggest ways of ensuring that such practices comply with appropriate ethical values. Key Words Bioethics, Biomedical research, clinical research, Tuskegee Study, paternalism, morality Introduction From time to time human beings experience health challenges, whether physical or mental. On its part, medical practice has made considerable progress towards combating or controlling many of these challenges. It is through research that the nature, symptoms and effects of ailments can be ascertained and remedies discovered. Medical researchers engage in both therapeutic and non-therapeutic research. Therapeutic research is that carried out with the purpose of treating disease. On the other hand, non-therapeutic research is aimed at 76 Adebayo A. Ogungbure furthering the frontiers of knowledge about human health. Furthermore, researchers and physicians often use human beings as objects of scientific investigation, raising certain ethical concerns, including the issue of informed consent and how consent is obtained, selection of participants in research, the welfare of human...
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...mental. On its part, medical practice has made considerable progress towards combating or controlling many of these challenges. It is through research that the nature, symptoms and effects of ailments can be ascertained and remedies discovered. Medical researchers engage in both therapeutic and non-therapeutic research. Therapeutic research is that carried out with the purpose of treating disease. On the other hand, non-therapeutic research is aimed at 76 Adebayo A. Ogungbure furthering the frontiers of knowledge about human health. Furthermore, researchers and physicians often use human beings as objects of scientific investigation, raising certain ethical concerns, including the issue of informed consent and how consent is obtained, selection of participants in research, the welfare of human subjects involved in a research project, what the goals of research ought to be, and what ought to constitute proper procedure for an ethical research. These issues are central to an aspect of applied ethics which is now commonly referred to as research ethics. The aim of research ethics is to ensure that research projects involving human subjects are carried out without causing harm to the subjects involved. In addition, it provides a sort of regulatory framework which ensures that human participants in research are not exploited either physically or psychologically. The need for ethical guidelines for biomedical research is expressed in some of the questions research ethicists are concerned...
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...Identify the major functions of ethics committees o healthcare organizations. There are three major functions which are the following; priority of ethics program is educational. The ethics committees should spend as much time to educated themselves about medical ethics. Ethics committee provide a mixture of educational services that include seminars, discussions, printed materials and informal consideration on some issues. They are designed to help improve skills and raise awareness of issues that may arise in a facility. The next function is policy development and review that is to develop criteria fo making decisions. Guidelines, that will serves as a guide for all health care workers. Lastly, the Case Consultation that are performed by only by one person by his or hers ability and other skills. Counseling services provides the operational scheme that must be established (Robert A. Pearlman, 2012). Who should be on the ethics committee? A person that becomes a member on the ethics committee that include clinicians, surgery, and psychiatry, social workers, chaplains, and community reps. Each must take responsibility for learning techniques of the ethical analysis and the arguments that surround the ethically charged issue in the clinical practice (Robert A. Pearlman, 2012). What is the role of an ethicist? The role of an ethicist is to make good decisions and support individuals through the processes. An Ethicist can help by identifying information a person...
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...Ethics and Opposition Ethics and Opposition of Stem Cell Research Biology 103 E803 Ethics and Opposition of Stem Cell Research The world of stem cell research can offer an immeasurable amount of possible medical marvels. It also comes with a myriad of controversies. Like where would we get embryonic stem cells, what would be done with it, and when are they considered human? The battle lines are drawn but the war is far from over. Backers for the research are starting to grow. I would like to delve into the ethics that should be in place if this research becomes a stable infrastructure of medical practice. Also, I will go into handling opposition concerning this research potential. First let us see what ethical issues that would arise in this probable world or research. In an article by Anne McLaren, she stated that there would be three different ethical issues that would arise: personal ethics, research ethics, and social ethics. In the realm of personal ethics it would deal with personal morality, dishonesty, irresponsibility, and failure to observe good practice (McLaren, 2007). Meaning there are two very important things that have to be considered by the person before continuing with the research. Is it for personal gain either financially or professionally or is it for the patient’s needs. Both of which are very important for every doctor around the world, and which some lost sight of. The second ethical problem is research ethics, which deals with the...
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...behavior) was coined in 1926 by Fritz Jahr, who "anticipated many of the arguments and discussions now current in biological research involving animals" in an article about the "bioethical imperative," as he called it, regarding the scientific use of animals and plants.[1] In 1970, the American biochemist Van Rensselaer Potter also used the term with a broader meaning including solidarity towards the biosphere, thus generating a "global ethics," a discipline representing a link between biology, ecology, medicine and human values in order to attain the survival of both human beings and other animal species.[2][3] Purpose and scope[edit] The field of bioethics has addressed a broad swathe of human inquiry, ranging from debates over the boundaries of life (e.g. abortion, euthanasia), surrogacy, the allocation of scarce health care resources (e.g. organ donation, health care rationing) to the right to refuse medical care for religious or cultural reasons. Bioethicists often disagree among themselves over the precise limits of their discipline, debating whether the field should concern itself with the ethical evaluation of all questions involving biology and medicine, or only a subset of these questions.[4] Some bioethicists would narrow ethical evaluation only to the morality of medical treatments or technological innovations, and the timing of medical treatment of humans. Others would broaden the scope of ethical evaluation to include the morality of all actions that might help...
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...Since Hippocrates wrote his Hippocratic Oath, the morals of medicine have preoccupied the minds of many medical philosophers. Occasionally, medical professionals and researchers have ignored the morals set down by their philosophic predecessors. The Nazis of the 1930’s and 40’s committed one of the most heinous breaches of morality in history. Josef Mengele lead Nazi doctors in conducting painful and sometimes fatal experiments on captured Jews without their consent. Rebecca Skloot uses the Aristotelian rhetorical technique of pathos in the contemporary biography The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks to demonstrate how, in the 1940s, the lack of medical ethics wronged countless families and individuals as they came to seek medical attention....
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...Running head: BUSINESS RESEARCH ETHICS 1 Business Research Ethics 2 The medical field is one that unethical research happens. The way it happens is when doctors or hospitals publish findings in some area but they do not research other results for the same test. In the article titled “The highly profitable but unethical business of publishing medical research”, it discusses how to make money in the medical field companies do not complete research and just publish information without the complete facts that accompany it. The reason publishing medical information without the complete research is unethical is because it can cause great damage to the consumer reading the report. It is also a problem because it means that the researchers in charge of looking up the right information are not doing their job. A better way to understand it is by know what unethical behavior is. According to smallbusiness.com, “Unethical behavior in business runs the gamut, from simple victimless crimes to huge travesties that can hurt large numbers of people. Whether it is stealing a pen, padding an expense report, lying to avoid a penalty or emitting toxic fumes into the air, unethical behavior cannot be condoned by a company. A strict ethics policy is the cornerstone for any business that wants to maintain a good reputation” (). In the article there are several issues presented. The first one is the lack of information, that is the primary...
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...Business Research Ethics RES/351 University of Phoenix Business Research Ethics Unethical medical business research has occurred throughout time, and is particularly punctuated by the experiments conducted by at least 23 Nazi physicians on Jews, political prisoners, and the physically and mentally handicapped during World War II. Unethical medical procedures were performed without the knowledge, consent, or protection of the subjects (University of Phoenix, 2011, Week One Reading). Advancement in medicine requires testing on humans and animals; however, medical research is considered unethical if the testing is performed against the will of the subjects. During World War II, Nazi doctors performed up to 30 different experiments on concentration camp prisoners that caused the victims intense pain, mutilation, permanent disability, and at worst, death (Tyson, 2000). Many of the experiments were conducted to improve the performance of the German military personnel, to multiply the Aryan race, and to develop vaccines for diseases. Some of the experiments included studying the effects of high altitude on the brain, monitoring bodily reactions to freezing temperatures, infecting victims with bacteria or gas gangrene in inflicted battlefield-type wounds, and injecting poisons. Others included amputation to attempt bone, muscle, and joint transplantation, sterilization, and artificial insemination (Tyson, 2000). The sum of concentration camp victims...
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...While the field of prosthetics and medical enhancement may be a relatively new field, the history of medicine is well over 2000 years old. The concept of medical ethics have been a backbone of the practice from the start, “The most famous document in medical history, the Hippocratic Oath (c. 400 B.C.E.), which established a model of ethical and professional behavior for healers” (Paul 1399). According to the article “I. United States” written by a biomedical ethicist and a member of the medical ethics committee: the development of bioethics can best be understood against the background of the development of medicine in the United States from 1900. The twentieth century saw enormous growth in American medicine—in scientific understanding, the...
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