THE PILLARS OF ETHICS ONLINE COURSE with George Muntingh – via zoom meeting

THE PILLARS OF ETHICS ONLINE COURSE with George Muntingh – via zoom meeting – 28 October 2023

Get your compulsory 3 ethics points when you join George as he takes you through the four pillars of ethics for when dealing with your patients and clients.

Live stream times; 9am – 12noon South African time Saturday 28 October 2023 – please check your own local times.

THE PILLARS OF ETHICS ONLINE COURSE with George Muntingh – via zoom meeting – 28 October 2023.

The PILLARS of ETHICS:

1. Respect for Autonomy
Autonomy is an individual’s ability to make their own decisions free from the influence of internal or external factors.
– Internal factors are aspects of an individual that reduces their ability to exercise their autonomy. This could be delirium secondary to sepsis, or a learning disability for example. These factors can stop an individual from being able to fully weigh up a situation.
– External factors are pressures coming from other people or an individual’s environment. For example, the relatives of an elderly patient pressure them to refuse life-sustaining care in order to reduce their care bills. The pressure from the relatives.
Rules flowing from Autonomy:
– Truth telling
– Confidentiality and privacy
– Informed consent

2. Beneficence
Beneficence is acting in the best interests of a patient. This means doctors must make decisions that promote the health of a patient and reduce the possibility of them coming to harm. An example of beneficence is a doctor choosing a course of treatment because it is proven to be effective for a patient’s condition.
Significant debate on beneficence arises when considering topics such as Euthanasia for the terminally ill. Arguably, allowing an individual to live in intolerable suffering is not in their best interests, however, the alternative (euthanasia) will lead to the ultimate harm (death).

3. Non-Maleficence
Primum non nocere: First do no harm! An example of a doctor violating this principle would be breast surgeon Ian Paterson, who performed unnecessary operations on hundreds of women after falsely telling them they had cancer. This is an example of violating non-maleficence as the surgeries had no clinical benefit and therefore constituted harm.
This principle commonly comes into conflict with Beneficence. Medical treatments commonly carry side effects. For example, many surgeries will have extended periods of painful recovery.
– The Doctrine of Double Effect
Allows for navigating these situations where, for example, a medical treatment such as chemotherapy has the ultimate goal of saving a life from cancer (beneficence), but carries harmful side effects such as fatigue, vomiting and hair loss. This principle holds that the harmful side effects caused by a treatment are allowable as long as it is not the intended consequence, and the good created outweighs the harm.
When applied to the Ian Paterson case, the harm caused by breast surgery (disfigurement, painful recovery and operative risk) is not permissible as there was no benefit to the patient. If the patient had been suffering from breast cancer, the doctrine of the double effect would come into play and allow the harmful side effects of surgery as the overall outcome would be positive (removing the cancer).

4. Justice
The principle of justice holds that all patients must be treated equally and equitably, this means that resources must be allocated fairly, and patient groups cannot be discriminated against. This is a founding principle of the NHS which requires patients to be treated based on their clinical needs rather than their ability to pay.

Recap and close Q & A

How To Book This Course:

• Step 1: Create an account; register your details here or click on the ‘My Profile’ button on the top menu: we need your details in order to reserve your seat and email you the preliminary materials for the course – ps; please note that registering your details does not book you onto the course – you need to follow step 2 below.

• Step 2: Book your place; Once you have registered your details, come back to this webpage to submit your booking below and choose your payment method; to book, click on the Submit button below.

• Step 3: Choose and make your payment method below; Payment by Bank Transfer: If you wish to pay via a bank transfer, simply follow the payment details on the proforma invoice that has been emailed to you now that you have made your booking. Payment by PayPal or Credit Card: Click the “Buy Now” Paypal button above to pay via PayPal or Credit Card. You are now booked and will receive a confirmation email shortly!

Live stream time; 9am – 12noon South African time; – please check your own local times