HEALTH ETHICS RESOURCES

What is Ethics?

Ethics is concerned with morals and values. It requires us to think deeply and systematically about some fundamental questions:

• What is right? What is wrong? What do we think and why?
• What is important in life? What do we think and why?

Why is ethics important in health care?

When we work in health care, do we always know

• What is important (valued) in the lives of patients, residents, clients and families?
• What is important (valued) in health in our communities?
• What is important (valued) in our work?

If we are to successfully navigate the many ethical challenges that we encounter in the provision of health care, it is important to have an understanding of

• How we think about right and wrong
• How we justify our own moral positions
• Why others may disagree with our positions
• How they might think, and justify, their moral positions
• How we can discuss ethical issues reasonably

Ethical issues and questions arise everywhere in health care

Some are “everyday” issues. Others are “exceptional” issues. Consequently, everyone has a role and responsibility for ethics in the health care organization. As Bashir Jiwani has observed, there is “a strong ethical duty on anyone who works in the health system – whether involved in building maintenance, the direct provision of health care, or in the administration.” (Jiwani, 2001).