Principles of Clinical Ethics and Their Application to Practice

Course overview

This course is based upon material published in Medical Principles and Practice and is available as an open-access article. An overview of ethics and clinical ethics is presented in this course. The 4 main ethical principles, that is beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice, are defined and explained. Informed consent, truth telling, and confidentiality spring from the principle of autonomy and each of them is discussed. In-patient care situations, not infrequently, there are conflicts between ethical principles (especially between beneficence and autonomy). A four-pronged systematic approach to ethical problem solving and several illustrative cases of conflicts are presented. Comments following the cases highlight the ethical principles involved and clarify the resolution of these conflicts. A model for patient care, with caring as its central element, that integrates ethical aspects (intertwined with professionalism) with clinical and technical expertise desired of a physician is illustrated. This course on clinical ethics is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. This course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate, and advanced level practitioners who wish to enhance their knowledge of ethics in clinical practice. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require ethics continuing education courses for license renewal. Authors: Varkey Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding the practice of clinical ethics. Specifically, a professional will: Define the four main ethical principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice Summarize a four pronged systematic approach to ethical problem solving Explain the model for patient care that integrates ethical aspects with clinical and technical expertise Citation: Varkey, B. (2021) Principles of Clinical Ethics and Their Application to Practice. Medical Principals and Practice 30 (17 28).