MODULE I

INTRODUCTION

Lesson 1 Theories and Principles of Health

Ethics

Lesson 2 Other Relevant Ethical Principles and

Bioethics

Lesson 3 Professional Code of Ethics

Lesson 4 Personhood

MODULE I

 INTRODUCTION

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This course deals with the application of ethico-moral concepts and

principles affecting care of the individuals, families, population group and
community. It involves discussion of issues and concerns in varied health
care situations. The learners are expected to apply sound ethical decision –
making in varied health scenarios.

OBJECTIVES

After studying the module, you should be able to:

1. Discuss the theories and principles of health ethics.

2. Gain knowledge about other relevant ethical principle.
3. Define what is Bioethics and its application in various health care
situations
4. Discover what is Bioethics and its research.

 DIRECTIONS/ MODULE ORGANIZER

There are four lessons in the module. Read each lesson carefully then
answer the exercises/activities to find out how much you have benefited
from it. Work on these exercises carefully and submit your output to your
tutor or to the office.

In case you encounter difficulty, discuss this with your tutor during
the face-to-face meeting. If not contact your tutor at the DMMMSU office.

Good luck and happy reading!!!

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LESSON I

 Theories and
Principles of Health
Ethics

WHAT IS HEALTH ETHICS?

Health Care Ethics is a science that deals with the study of the
morality of human conduct concerning health and health care. Health care
pertains to medical services, nursing care, and all other types of health care
services given by health care practitioners such as doctors, nurses,
midwives, and all the rest who, in a way or another, engage in any duly
recognized form of health care practice.

What is Bioethics?

The term bioethics was first used by the biologist Van Rensselaer
Potter. Potter used the term to refer a new field devoted to human survival
and an improved quality of life. Gradually the term bioethics came to refer
to the broad terrain of the moral problems of the life sciences ordinarily
taken to encompass medicine, biology and some important aspects of the
environmental population and social sciences.

Theories and Principles of Health Ethics

A. Ethical Theories

1. Deontology (Duty-Oriented Theories)

- the basic rightness or wrongness of an art depends on its intrinsic nature
rather than on the situation on the consequences.
- an act in itself would be either right or wrong, it could not be both.
- morality is derived from rationality
- we must always treat others as ends and not as means only.

(To explain further: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWZi-8Wji7M)

 Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

- he based his moral philosophy on the crucial fact that we are rational
beings, and central feature of this rationality was the principles derived
from reason are universal.

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- morality is derived from rationality not from experience, and obligation is

grounded not in the nature of man or in the circumstances of the world out
in pure person.

(To explain further: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UhiRLuSlIU)

 John Rawls
- proposes that if a reasoning individual were placed in a social situation
requiring a value choice without knowing what role he was playing in the
situation (Rawls calls this the original)
- the individual world chose the alternative that best supported or favoured
the most disadvantaged person.

(To explain further: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-JQ17X6VNg)

“Golden Rule”
 for an action to be morally defensible the one doing the act that
impacts another would be willing to be the recipient of an identical
action by someone else under identical circumstances.

B. Virtue Ethics
Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.
-Mahatma Gandhi

We may go so far as to state that the man who does not enjoy
performing wobble actions is not a good man at all.
Nobody would call a man just who does not enjoy acting justly, nor
generous who does not enjoy generous action.

Traits of a virtuous character

1. Virtuous act must be chosen for their own sakes.
2. Choice must proceed from a firm and unchangeable character.
3. Virtue is a disposition to choose the mean

 Practical wisdom- the power of deliberation about things good

for oneself
 Practices are the arena in which virtues are exhibited, and it is
only in terms of the particular practice that virtues can be
defined.

2. Teleology (Consequence-Oriented Theories)

- considers the amount of good in the end, consequences.
- utilitarianism.

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 Deontological (“deon” = “duty”) focuses on the protection of

individual and universal rights; behaviour rather than
consequences.

- Kant – “universalism”
- Aristotle: Virtue Ethics
- Also hybrid of both we will look at Rawls (distributive justice)

Teleological looks to Deontological looks to

Ends Duties
Utility Rights
Consequences Means
Universal principles

(For more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoPjFnqO7j4)

3. Utilitarianism

- it is an ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing

on outcomes
- it is a form of consequentialism.
- holds that the most ethical choice is the one that will produce the
greatest good for the greatest number.

LESSON II

PROFESSIONAL CODE OF ETHICS

– The essential characteristics of the learned profession are

self-regulation, a specialized body of knowledge , standards
of education and practice, a fiduciary relationship with
those served, and the provision of a particular service to
society.

The professional etiquette requirements of our roles in health care

are usually based on the traditions of good practice and good
manners.

PROFESSIONAL ETIQUETTE – involves issues such as the need to avoid

talking badly about another practitioner( especially in front of
patients) maintenance of appropriate relationships at the worksite, or
the need to stay within the role boundaries of our specialty.

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– GATEKEEPING- Allied health and nursing personnel have

long known that our physician colleagues were very loathe
to criticize other physicians and practiced gatekeeping as
part of their professional duties.

– Gatekeeping is a part of the profession, whereby, one looks

out for the interests of the profession, or of others in a
similar practice comes as a result of professional obligations
and training, which lead to a strong sense of collegiality
with others in our practice.

As a nurse, being a patient advocate, means to defend the rights of,

and be a supporting voice for the patient.

– Whistle blowing has to do with ethics because it represents

a person‟s understanding, at a deep level, that an action
his or her organization is taking is harmful-that it
interferes with people‟s right or is unfair or distracts from
the common good.

THINK!

Why is it that you should not commit whistleblowing,

especially in our profession?

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C. Ethical Principles

 Autonomy – This is the ability of the agent to govern themselves.

Greek word “autos” (self) “nomos” (governance)

– a form of personal liberty

a) Patient’s Bill of Rights

-The patient has the right to refuse treatment to the extent
permitted by law and to be informed of the medical
consequences of his actions.

b) Patient’s rights
-To keep personal belongings.
-To make and receive phone calls.
-To refuse and receive treatments.
-To receive confidential treatment.
-To communicate with people outside the hospital.

c) Informed Consent
 voluntarily agreeing to participate
 having been informed
 having a full understanding

- It is the provider‟s responsibility to provide the purpose of the procedure

and the complete description of the procedure in the patient‟s primary
language.

- The providers should also provide the risks versus the benefits of the
procedure and to describe the alternative in that particular procedure as a
nurse you should make sure that the provider gave all the necessary
information.

 Make sure the patient is competent to give information

d) Proxy Consent/Legally Acceptable Representative

-If the patient is unable to give informed consent, because of
dementia, or impairment the closest relative like parents or
siblings can be authorized.

 When an individual is not competent to refuse treatment, often the

physician, hospital, or a family member may seek resolution of the
problem from the courts prior to implementing decision.

e) Confidentiality

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-A patient‟s basic right to expect the information he or she

gives a health care practitioner to be held in confidence.
“harm principle” –this principle requires that health care
providers refrain from acts or omissions that would forseeably
result in harm to others especially in cases in which the
individuals are particularly vulnerable to risk.

 Privacy - person‟s right

 Confidentiality – the professional‟s duty

Four classes of Invasion of privacy

1. Misappropriation – usually deals with the unpermitted use of a

person‟s name or likeness for another‟s benefit or advantage.

2. Intrusion – involves the intrusion upon another‟s solitude or

seclusion; a clinical example might be the allowance of unessential,
or lay personnel to be present during a surgical procedure or
examination.

3. Public disclosure or private facts – involves publicity of an

objectionable nature of private nature.

4. Presenting someone in a false light to the public – usually involves

the publication of information that leads to the public regarding the
plaintiff falsely.

7 IMPORTANT ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

1.Veracity – truth telling and right to information

2. Fidelity – the fidelity to keep a commitment –accountability

*distributive justice - people have the right to be treated equally regardless

of race, gender, marital status, medical diagnosis, and social standing.
3.Beneficence – to promote goodness, kindness and charity
– one should do good and prevent or avoid harm
4.Non-maleficence – the duty not to inflict harm
–includes treatment and execution
Violations could include : a.) unnecessary care

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b.) incompetent treatment

c.) not referring when indicated

5.Advocacy - assisting in navigating care

6.Autonomy (respect for others)

Auto “one‟s own” Nomos “rule, principle or governance
- A form of personal liberty
- The individual is free to choose and implement one‟s own
decision; free from deceit, duress, constraint or coercion.

7.Paternalism – interfering with the autonomy of a patient who is about

to harm themselves.

2 Kinds of violations:
 Dishonesty (“not telling the whole”)
 Willful omission (“truth is a lie”)

Making a decision depends on knowing the truth.

* Both parties have the right to choose
* Both parties must tell the truth
“It is one’s advisable to admit can made a mistake or apologize to
the patient”

8.Justice (fairness)
- Involves treating all patients in the same
way (without bias)

„Includes‟
- Emergency patients
- Disabilities (HIV)
- Access to care charity

9.Fidelity – trust/confidentiality

(Includes proper diagnosis and treatment

presentation)

Violations could include

- Failure to diagnose or treat
- Not promoting the best treatment
- Patient abandonment

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ROLE FIDELITY
– whatever the assigned role, the ethics of healthcare require that
the practitioner practice faithfully within the constraints of the
role.

– Most often the areas of acceptable practice are contained and

prescribed by the scope of practice of the state legislation that
enables the profession practice

(To understand better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QTZEtEo08s)

THINK!

Euthanasia raises a number of agonizing moral dilemmas

between medical and ethics. It could affect principles such as
autonomy, non-maleficence and beneficence
1. Under what circumstances can euthanasia be justifiable, if
at all?
2. Is there a moral difference between killing someone and
letting them die?

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LESSON III


Other Relevant Ethical
Principles and Bioethics

What is PRINCIPLE?

PRINCIPLE is that from which something proceeds in any manner.

What is MORAL PRINCIPLE?

A MORAL PRINCIPLE refers to a fundamental rule of moral law

containing certain truth from which knowledge of a definite moral action
for performance proceeds along with the provision of solution to specific
moral problems or issues.

D. Other Relevant Ethical Principles

1. Principle of Double Effect

- an action of which would be
wrong if it mere done
intentionally may be
permissible if we bring it
about merely a foreseen
consequence of doing
something else which is
good.

Principles of Double Effect (Guiding Elements)

 The course chosen must be good or at last morally neutral.
 The good must follow as a consequence of the secondary
harmful effects.
 The harm must never he intended but merely tolerated as
casually connected with the good intended.
 The good must outweigh the harm.

(To explain further: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKvjWoYklQM)

(Medical correlation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMvKjYBcfDA)

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2. Principles of Legitimate Cooperation

- describes how effective
communication in conversation is
achieved in common situations
that is how listener‟s and
speakers must act cooperatively
and mutually accept one‟s
another to be understood is a
particular way.

 Grice’s maxims - “encapsulating the assumptions that we

prototypically hold when we engage in conversation.

Maxim of Manner
 Avoid obscurity of expression.
 Avoid ambiguity.
 Be brief (avoid unnecessary prolixity).
 Be orderly

(To explain further: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRMgGCNKijM)

Bioethics

It is the study of the typically

controversial ethical issues emerging
from new situations and possibilities
brought about by advances in biology
and medicine

It is also moral discernment as it relates

to medical policy and practice.

1) Principles of Stewardship and Role of Nurses as Steward

– This principle requires us appreciate the two great gifts that a
wise and loving God has given; the Earth with all His natural
resources and our own human nature, with its biological,
psychological, social and spiritual capacities.

– Therefore, stewardship expresses our obedience regarding the

administration of everything God has placed under our control, which
is all encompassing.

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– Stewardship demands a way of life that encourages virtue and

bears the fruit of solidarity among people.

 Stewardship- one has an obligation to seek medical help when

something goes wrong with the body
a) Personal
b) Social
c) Ecological
d) Biomedical

2) Principle of Totality and its Integrity

– These principles dictates that the well-being of the whole person

must be taken into account in deciding about any therapeutic
intervention or use of technology.

– Therapeutic procedures that are likely to cause harm or

undesirable side effects can be justified only by proportionate
benefit to the patient.

 Totality-removal, mutilation or destruction of a part of the

body must be wrong
–An individual may not dispose of his organs or destroy their
capacity to function, except to the extent that this is
necessary for the general well-being of the body

 Destroying an organ or interfering with its capacity to function,

prevents the organ from achieving its natural purpose.

 Ethico-moral responsibilities of nurses in surgery

– the right/ freedom to decide (the patient has the right to
refuse despite the explanation of the nurse)
Example : Surgery , or any other procedure

ROLES OF A NURSE in the SURGERY

Your responsibilities as a surgical

nurse, also referred to as
perioperative nurse.

Surgical nurses are considered the

backbone of the surgical team. They

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help plan, implement and evaluate treatment of the patient.

They assist in general surgery procedures , handle a variety of
tasks,

Handing the surgeon surgical tools and intervening if

complications occur. They care for patients before and after
surgery.

(What is Perioperative Nursing?

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC0cmZwrceE)

STERILIZATION/MUTILATION

 STERILIZATION – it is the process by which all forms of microbial life

from surface. Medium and instruments are destroyed by various
physical and chemical methods.

 MUTILATION – Any lessening of the integrity of the human body.

(For more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN6xDdxL3rY)

A. Major mutilation: renders individual unfit for natural functions.

e.g. sterilization, removal of tongue

B. Minor mutilation: does not destroy its function.

e.g. removal of tonsils, or appendix

 Principle of Totality: All the parts of the body are ordained for the
good of the whole entity. There is no moral violation when it is
necessary to destroy a part for the good of the whole.

 Preservation of bodily functional integrity

 Issues on organ donation
–organ donation can be morally justified not by the principle of
totality but by the principle of charity, brotherly concern and
proportionality.

3) Principle of Ordinary and Extraordinary Means

These two terms refer to the means to preserve life.
- Ordinary means are obligatory.
- Extraordinary are optional and many not be chosen.

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- The extraordinary may be chosen with the hope of healing a person or

they may produce no benefit.

 ORDINARY MEANS - are all medicines, treatments, procedures and

technology that offer a reasonable hope of benefit and which can be
obtained without excessive pain, expense or burden.

 EXTRAORDINARY MEANS - refers to all medicines treatments, and

technology that do not offer a reasonable hope of benefit or cannot
be obtained or used with out excessive pain, expense or burden.

4) Principle of Personalized Sexuality

- it is based on an understanding of sexuality as one of the basic traits
of a person and must be developed in ways consistent with enhancing
human dignity. Hence, sexuality is not a private matter, although it involves
the most intimate of relationships.

Ethics – a generic term for various ways of understanding and examining

the moral life of a person.

Professional ethics such as those found in medicine and law, are applied
ethics designed to bring about the ethical conduct of the profession.

 In health care delivery, the major purpose might be the pursuit

of health, with the prevention of death and the alleviation of
suffering a secondary goals.
 The basic ethical principles that have been developed to allow
health professionals to determined right and wrong in regard
to value issues involving this goals are autonomy, veracity,
confidentiality, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and role
fidelity.

 Formative ethics – actions are being based on standards of society

and acts are judge by standards of what is accepted as right or good
action.

 Descriptive ethics – what people believe and how they act are
phenomeno-logically described.

Analytic – people analyse the concepts and method of ethics in

the light of what they observe, believe and practice.

Morality – addresses the question of what is right and what is

wrong.

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Common morality – comprises socially approved norms of human

conduct.

Ethical theory and moral philosophy

– Refer to philosophical reflection or when we speak of
morality‟s nature and function.
– The purpose of a theory is to enhance clarity, systematic
order, and precision of argument in our thinking about
morality.

Metaethics – involves analysis of these three;

a) Language
b) Concepts
c) Methods of reasoning

LESSON IV

Personhood
– Inner worth and inherent dignity
– The person must be respected regardless of the nature of his
health problem, social status, competence, and past actions

 Decisions about health must aim at the maximum integrated

satisfaction of his needs; biological, psychological, social and
spiritual.
 Certain actions may never be done because performing them would
constitute a violation against the person‟s dignity.

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Characteristics a person must possess

1. One who could be said to have interests; a person for whom something
can be said to be good for his or her own sake.
2. One who has cognitive awareness; a being of memories, expectations,
and beliefs.
3. One who is capable of relationships. Interpersonal relationships seem to
be at the very essence of what we idealize in truly being a person.
4. One who has a sense of futurity. How truly human is someone who cannot
realize there is a time yet to come as well as a present? The words “What do
you want to become” only makes sense in relation to a person.

THE HUMAN ACT

Human Act is an act

that proceeds with the deliberate
free will of man. In Ethics, being
deliberate or deliberation means merely advertence or knowledge in the
intellect of what one is about and what is means.
The act then, has to be advertently or knowingly done by the
agent so as to be called human act. The term agent technically refers to the
one performing the human act. Now , it is obvious that human act requires
the use of both the rational faculties of knowing(intellect) and willing(free
will).

ELEMENTS OF HUMAN ACT

1. KNOWLEDGE- means that the act is done in the light of the agent‟s
knowing faculty. He is aware and conscious of what he is doing. He
knows what he is performing means.

Example: John.a second year nursing student has learned how to do the
intramuscular injection during RLE class demonstration. And he does the act
of injecting during his tour of duty in the hospital. In the first place, he is
aware and conscious that he is injecting intramuscularly and what it means.
He knows what he is doing . Thus, injecting constitutes a “knowing act” –
the primary element of human act.

2. FREEDOM- means that the act is performed in accordance with and

not against the will. It is under the control of the will determining the

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act. In other words, the power resides in the will to choose to do or

not to do an act. It is therefore, a free act done without any element
of force or coercion.
Example: Though he is following the doctor‟s order of doing the act of
intramuscular injection under the supervision of his clinical instructor,John
does the act of injecting . He does it according to and never against his
will without mentioning that he can also choose not to do it by his refusal.
Thus, he is free to do it.
The will is a” blind “ faculty. It cannot act in the “ dark”. It needs
the light of knowledge in the intellect in order to elicit an act. In other
words, the will cannot choose to do that which is not known to intellect.

Example: Myla cannot make use of her free will to go to go to

California if, in the first place, she does not know that there is such a
California existing as a city in the United States./ Michael cannot will to
take up nursing if he does not know that there is such a course as in
demand as it is abroad.

In which case, the exercise of the freedom of the will is limited by the
knowledge in the intellect. The more the intellect knows, the more the
free will is in exercising its power to choose to do or not to do as afforded
by the intellect.

Example: The more a health care practitioner knows about health

care; of course, the more he can exrcise his freedom to apply what he
knows. Thus, acts determined by the will (fed by the knowledge in the
intellect) are free acts-the essential element of human act.

3. VOLUNTARINESS means that the act done by the agent is

intentional. When he is voluntarily performs the act, the agent
intends it is a product of his decision which is within the power
of his will. In other words a voluntary act is a willed act, an act
which is willfully done. The agent cannot voluntarily do an act if he
does not know it in his intellect. He cannot also voluntarily do it
without his freedom. Voluntariness is there only when knowledge and
freedom are present.

Example: Chloe is aware how t the act of administering

intramuscular injection and what it means (knowledge). In the first place‟
he can choose to do or not to do it.(freedom). Though, he is perhaps,
following the doctor‟s instruction, from his clinical instructor, he is still free
do or not to do the act. His sense of duty does not even take away his being

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physically free to choose to perform his duty or leave it unperformed ).

Now, knowing what intramuscular injection means and how it is
administered, and being free to choose to do or not to do the act as
determined by his will ,Chloe decides,(the act of deciding is, of course, a
free act),to do the act of injecting. His decision within the power of his will
makes him intend and willfully do the act of injecting( voluntariness).

Voluntary act is synonymous with human act, because voluntary act

presupposes and indicates the use of both knowledge and freedom
essentially constitutive of HUMAN ACT.

What is an act of Man?

Act of Man is an act that does not proceed from the deliberate free will of
man. In contrast with human act, act of man does not require the
employment of the rational faculties of intellect and free will. The three
elemnts of human act are not present.

!. There is no element of knowledge

Example: Somnambulism-which is an act of walking while sleeping,

indicates that the somnambulist is not aware or conscious that he is walking
while asleep. It is therefore not a deliberate act-it is an act of man.

2. There is no element of freedom.- Act of man is not freely done which

means that the power of the free will to determine the act it chooses to
elicit or not is not invoked and employed. It is not free act.

Example: All acts of human infants require no employment of the free will
to determine the acts. An infant acts in accordance with his sensation and
appetition and not with rational faculties, not with freedom. These acts are
therefore,not free acts-they are acts of man.

3.There is no element of voluntariness.- Act of man does not proceed from

both knowledge and freedom requiring no decision of the will to make the
agent intend and willfully do such an act. It is involuntary act.

Example: The act of digesting is not stimulated by the employment of both

knowledge and freedom requiring decision to make the agent intend to do
it. It is governed by the physical law of nature of the digestive system. It is
therefore,an involuntary act- an act of man.

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=Nevertheless, man is not merely an animal. In his human existence, he

performs that which is in accordance with his rational nature,with his
rational faculties by which he is capable of making human act.

What is Conscience?
Conscience is a practical judgment of reason on the goodness of an
act that has to be done and the evil of an act that has to be avoided.

It is a 1. A practical judgment of reason

2. On the goodness and evil of an act

TYPES OF CONSCIENCE;

1.Correct conscience- present in the judgment of an act as good when it is

truly good and an act as evil when it is truly evil.

Example: According to the dictates of her conscience, euthanasia

is evil and so, the nurse refuses to give a lethal injection to a suffering
patient whose case is perceived by the doctor as useless.

2.Erroneous conscience- present in the judgement of an act as good when it

is evil and an act evil when it is good.
Example: A medical doctor rejects the moral teaching of the
Church that therapeutic direct abortion is evil.He argues that in a situation
where only one life can be saved, abortion, which is done in order to save
the life of the mother at the expense of the fetus, otherwise, both will die,
is an act that is not only justified but also deserves affirmation, His
argument proves the existence of his erroneous conscience.

4. Certain and doubtful or Dubious

Certain -it is present when there is assured and firm judgment of an
act without any fear of being in error.

Example: A patient who is a member of Jehovah‟s Witnesses firmly

believes without any fear of being in error that blood transfusion is
sinful and never morally allowed. So he refuses to be transfused with
blood. In which case, the patient‟s conscience is certain through
erroneous, and thus should be respected.
5. Doubtful or dubious- present when there is no sure judgment of
whether an act is good or bad. In this is state, the agent is aware of
the possibility that when his conscience tells him is erroneous.

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If the doubt concerns the existence and applicability of a law or

moral principle, it is called speculative.
Example: A nurse who graduated, from a non- Catholic nursing school
is in doubt about whether or not there is such a moral principle
permits the act of treating a sickness with both evil and good
consequences.

If the doubt concerns the lawfulness of an individual act to be

performed, or omitted, it is a practical doubt.

Example: A medical doctor is in about whether or not, it is morally

permissible to expel the non-viable fetus (as in therapeutic abortion) whose
motives are to save the mother and avoid the loss of two lives.
Now, is it lawful to act in the state of doubtful conscience? The
answer to this questions is embodied in the moral responsibilities for one‟s
conscience.
6. Lax conscience- is a type of conscience which perceives even
morally grave evils as allowable. It finds and makes which excuses of
evil acts through seriously evil by rationalizing and justifying them.
When lax conscience goes and not corrected, it may be done and of
evil that has to be avoided.
Example: An abortionist who justifies and rationalizes the act of
abortion by saying that an embryo or a non-viable fetus is not yet
human being has a lax conscience which tends her to continuously go
on with her occupation.
7. Scrupulous Conscience is a type of conscience which perceives evil in
an act when there is none. It is the opposite of laxity.
Example: A patient who experiences spontaneous, inevitable that
she is accountable for the loss of the baby. In which case, the patient
has a manifestation of scrupulous conscience.

MORAL RESPONSIBILITIES for ONE‟s CONSCIENCE

= When conscience is properly formed and informed, the agent is

morally obliged with a to obey it in all circumstances .

=A person should always act in conformity with a certain conscience.

=It is never morally permissible to act with a doubtful conscience.

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 MODULE SUMMARY

In module I, you have learned about Health Care Ethics. You have
learned their meanings, importance and kinds and principles. You have also
learned the ends of human acts.

There are four lessons in module I. Lesson 1 consists of three parts

focused on the meaning, importance and system of health care ethics
ethics.

Lesson 1 discusses the theories and principles of health Ethics .It

deals with the study of relevant principles: deontology, teleology,and
utilitarianism.

Lesson 2 deals with the other important ethical principles and the
role of human acts. Essential attributes and kinds of human acts are also
presented. It also explains what is bioethics and its principles. It also
enumerates the roles of a nurse in the hospital setting.

Lesson 3 and 4 deals with the application of ethical reasoning and

decision -making process to address situations of ethical distress and moral
dilemma.

Congratulations! You have just studied Module I. now you are ready to
evaluate how much you have benefited from your reading by answering the
summative test. Good Luck!!!

 SUMMATIVE TEST

1. Discuss the role of bioethics in your life as a person.

2. Distinguish ethics and morality.

Module I
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In module I, you have learned about Health Care Ethics. You have
learned their meanings, importance and kinds and principles. You have also
learned the ends of human acts.

There are four lessons in module I. Lesson 1 consists of three parts

focused on the meaning, importance and system of health care ethics
ethics.

Lesson 1 discusses the theories and principles of health Ethics .It

deals with the study of relevant principles: deontology, teleology, and
utilitarianism.

Lesson 2 deals with the other relevant ethical principles and the role
of human acts. Essential attributes and kinds of human acts are also
presented. It also explains what is bioethics and its principles. It also
enumerates the roles of a nurse in the hospital setting.

Lesson 3 and 4 deals with the application of ethical reasoning and

decision-making process to address situations of ethical distress and moral
dilemma.

Congratulations! You have just studied Module I. now you are ready to
evaluate how much you have benefited from your reading by answering the
summative test. Good Luck!!!

 SUMMATIVE TEST

1. Discuss the role of bioethics in your life as a person.

Module I