Definition 

Ethics

Moral principles that determine a person’s behaviour or the way an action should be carried out

Legal

Relating to the law

Psycho-social

relating to the interrelation of social factors and individual thought and behaviour (e.g. psychological and social influences)

Psycho-social factors

factors such as stress, hostility, depression, hopelessness, and job control

Social influences

Influences from family, friends, peers etc.

PFAOMC

‘Psychological factors affecting other medical conditions’

PFAOMC is a disorder that is diagnosed when a general medical condition is adversely affected by psychological or behavioral factors

Illness Anxiety Disorder

Patients believing there is something wrong with them, often even after reassurance from medical professionals and examination

Deontology

The belief that the means are considered right or wrong, not taking the consequences into consideration

(e.g. it is never ok to kill someone, even in self defence)

Utilitarianism

The opposite to deontology, if the end result is good, the actions can be justified. Can be seen as happiness minus suffering.

The trolley problem

consequentialism

the doctrine that the morality of an action is to be judged solely by its consequences

“the ethical status of an action is determined by its consequences.”

The difference between utilitarianism and consequentialism

A consequentialist judges the morality of an act by its consequences. The utilitarian judges an act specifically by asking if the consequence of an act is one of human pleasure or happiness.

Absurdism

Belief that humans are innately driven to look for meaning in an ultimately meaningless universe

Ataraxia

Remaining calm even when stressed, upset, angry etc.

Cognitive bias

AKA ‘Band wagoning’ – agreeing to something as others are doing it (or perceived to be doing it)

Dunning-Krueger effect

Incompetent people express their ideas more and believe themselves to be more intelligent.

Competent people show self-doubt and are less likely to express their views, as they understand the complex nature of everything.

Critical thinking

The ability to reflect and improve on your thoughts, beliefs and expectations etc.

Hedonism

Doing whatever you enjoy regardless of consequences

e.g. eating as many sweets as possible

The paradox of hedonism

The idea that pleasure always goes south (therefore making true hedonism impossible)

e.g. eating as many sweets as possible, getting sick and your teeth rot (resulting in misery)

Egoism

The idea that humans should (or do) always do everything for themselves

Egotism

Inflated vision of self, self-centred

Existentialism

Life has no inherent meaning. Nothing we do matters in an absolute sense. There is no God, no objective morality, and no cosmic “purpose” in life.

That’s OK. Or even better than okay, because it means that life can have the meaning that we give it—that we are more important than any pre-conceived notions about our lives.

Intuition

An idea or thought that has no conceivable root

Monotheism

Belief in a single god

Causality

The idea that one thing causes another

Humanism

Humanism is a belief in the value, freedom, and independence of human beings.

Realism

The idea that everything is real

Please be aware not all above terms may relate to every medical ethical case, and some stray into philosophy

The four medical ethics

Autonomy, justice, beneficence, non-maleficence

Autonomy

The patient must consent/not be pressured into a procedure

Justice

New procedures must be distributed equally (not kept to one group of patients etc.)

Beneficence

All procedures must be done for the good of the patient

Non-maleficence

No harm should come to the patient

Bolam standard

A doctor is not guilty of negligence if he has acted in accordance with a practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of medical men skilled in that particular art.

Declaration of Helsinki

Agreement on the ethics on human experimentation

Considered the cornerstone of research ethics

Nuremberg code

Code set out at Nuremberg trials on human experimentation ethics

Declaration of Geneva

1947 update on the Hippocratic oath (last revised 2006)

Confidentiality

Not repeating or passing on information

Consent

Making sure the relevant parties are informed fully and agree

Moral realism

Moral realism is based on the idea that there are real objective moral facts or truths in the universe. Moral statements provide factual information about those truths.

e.g. ‘it is wrong to murder’

Subjectivism

The idea that an individual’s moral statements are a reflection of a person’s feelings or attitudes towards that particular subject

e.g. ‘I disapprove of murder’

Emotivism

Emotivism is the view that moral claims are no more than expressions of approval or disapproval.

This sounds like subjectivism, but in emotivism a moral statement doesn't provide information about the speaker's feelings about the topic but expresses those feelings.

e.g. ‘down with murder!’ while wearing a sad face

Prescriptivism

Prescriptivists think that ethical statements are instructions or recommendations.

So if I say something is good, I'm recommending you to do it, and if I say something is bad, I'm telling you not to do it.

E.g. ‘don’t murder people’

supernaturalism

The idea that god sets all moral rules

Intuitionism

The idea that good and bad are real objective properties that can't be broken down into component parts. Something is good because it's good; its goodness doesn't need justifying or proving.

Also believe that adults ‘know’ what is morally right or wrong

Situation ethics

The idea that rather than following rules the decision maker should follow a desire to seek the best for the people involved. There are no moral rules or rights - each case is unique and deserves a unique solution.

Bolam test

A doctor or healthcare professional can defend themselves from negligence claims if they get another HCP to say they would have done the same in the same situation