Deontology and ethics in medicine have always been of great importance. This is due to the specifics of the work of staff of medical institutions.
The basics of medical ethics and deontology today
Currently, the problem of relationships (both within the work collective and with patients) has acquired special significance. Without the coordinated work of all employees, as well as in the absence of trust between the doctor and the patient, it is unlikely that serious success will be achieved in the medical field.
Medical ethics and deontology are not synonymous. In fact, deontology is a kind of separate branch of ethics. The fact is that it is an inferior complex of only professional moral standards of a person. At the same time, ethics is a much broader concept.
What can be deontology?
Currently, several variants of this concept are distinguished at once. It all depends on what level of relationship is brought up for discussion. Among their main varieties distinguish:
- doctor - patient;
- doctor - a nurse;
- doctor - doctor;
- nurse - patient;
- nurse - a nurse;
- doctor - administration;
- Doctor - Nursing staff;
- nurse - nursing staff;
- Nursing staff - Nursing staff;
- nurse - administration;
- Nursing staff - the patient;
- Nursing staff - administration.
The relationship of the doctor with the patient
It is here that medical ethics and medical deontology are of the greatest importance. The fact is that without their observance, a trusting relationship is unlikely to be established between the patient and the doctor, but in this case the healing process of the sick person is significantly delayed.
In order to gain the trust of the patient, according to deontology, the doctor should not allow himself unprofessional expressions and jargon, but he should clearly tell the patient both about the essence of his illness and about the main measures that must be taken in order to achieve a full recovery. If the doctor does just that, then he will surely find a response from his ward. The fact is that the patient will be able to trust the doctor 100% only if he is really sure of his professionalism.
Many doctors forget that medical ethics and medical deontology prohibit confusing the patient and are expressed unnecessarily complicated, without conveying to the person the essence of his condition. This gives rise to additional fears in the patient, which by no means contribute to a speedy recovery and can have a very detrimental effect on the relationship with the doctor.
In addition, medical ethics and deontology do not allow the doctor to spread about the patient. Moreover, this rule should be followed not only with friends and family, but even with those colleagues who do not participate in the treatment of a particular person.
Patient Interaction
As you know, it is the nurse who contacts the patients more than other health workers. The fact is that most often after a morning walk the doctor may not even see the patient during the day. The nurse, on several occasions, delivers pills to him, makes injections, measures the level of blood pressure and temperature, and also performs other appointments of the attending physician.
Ethics and deontology of the nurse requires her to be polite and responsive to the patient. At the same time, in no case should she become an interlocutor for him and answer questions about his illnesses. The fact is that a nurse may misinterpret the essence of a particular pathology, as a result of which the preventive work carried out by the treating doctor will be harmed.
Relationship between nurses and patients
It often happens that a patient is not rude to a doctor or a nurse, but to a nurse. This should not be the case in a normal healthcare institution. The junior medical staff should take care of the patients, doing everything (within reasonable limits) so that their stay in the hospital is as convenient and comfortable as possible. At the same time, they should not engage in conversations on remote topics and even more so answer medical questions. The junior staff does not have a medical education, so they can only judge the essence of diseases and the principles of combating them at the philistine level.
Relationship of a nurse with a doctor
Professional ethics and deontology calls for a respectful attitude of staff towards each other. Otherwise, the team will not be able to work harmoniously. The main link in a hospital’s professional relationship is the interaction of doctors with nursing staff.
First of all, nurses need to learn how to respect subordination. Even if the doctor is very young, and the nurse has worked for more than 1 decade, then all the same, she should treat him like an elder, following all his instructions. These are the fundamental foundations of medical ethics and deontology.
Especially strictly such rules in relations with doctors, nurses should adhere to in the presence of the patient. He must see that his appointment is made by a respected person who is a kind of leader capable of managing the team. In this case, his credibility with the doctor will be especially strong.
At the same time, the basics of ethics and deontology do not forbid the nurse, if she is experienced enough, to hint to the novice doctor that, for example, his predecessor acted in a specific situation in some specific way. Such advice, expressed in an informal and polite manner, will not be perceived by the young doctor as an insult or an understatement of his professional capabilities. Ultimately, he will be grateful for the timely prompt.
Nursing Relationships with Junior Staff
Ethics and deontology of the nurse requires her to respectfully treat the junior staff of the hospitals. Moreover, in their relationship should not be present any familiarity. Otherwise, it will decompose the team from the inside, because sooner or later the nurse may begin to make complaints about certain instructions of the nurse.
In the event of a conflict, a doctor can assist in resolving it. Medical ethics and deontology do not prohibit this. However, middle and junior staff should try to load the doctor with such problems as rarely as possible, because resolving conflicts between employees is not part of his direct duties. In addition, he will have to give preference in favor of this or that employee, and this can cause the latter to claim the doctor himself.
A nurse must unconditionally comply with all appropriate orders from a nurse. In the end, the decision to carry out certain manipulations is not made by herself, but by the doctor.
The interaction of nurses
As with all other hospital staff, nurses should be discreet and professional in their interactions. Ethics and deontology of the nurse requires her to always look neat, to be polite with colleagues. Disputes between employees may be resolved by the head nurse of the department or hospital.
At the same time, each nurse must fulfill exactly her duties. There should be no hazing facts. This is especially necessary to track with senior medical sisters. If you overextend a young specialist with additional job duties, for the performance of which he still won’t get anything, then he is unlikely to remain in such work for a long time.
The relationship between doctors
Medical ethics and deontology are the most complex concepts. This is due to the variety of possible contacts between doctors of the same or different profiles.
Doctors should treat each other with respect and understanding. Otherwise, they risk spoiling not only the relationship, but also their reputation. Medical ethics and deontology strongly discourage doctors from discussing their colleagues with anyone, even if they are not doing the right thing. This is especially true in cases where the doctor communicates with the patient, who is observed by another doctor on an ongoing basis. The fact is that he can forever destroy the trusting relationship between the patient and the doctor. The discussion of another doctor with the patient, even if a certain medical error was committed, is a dead end approach. This, of course, can increase the status of one doctor in the eyes of the patient, but it will significantly reduce the trust in him from his colleagues. The fact is that sooner or later the doctor will find out that he was being discussed. Naturally, after that he will not treat his colleague the same way as before.
It is very important for the doctor to support his colleague, even if he made a medical mistake. This is what professional deontology and ethics prescribe. Even the most highly qualified specialists are not immune from mistakes. Moreover, the doctor who sees the patient for the first time, does not always fully understand why his colleague acted in this or that situation in this way and not otherwise.
The doctor must also support his young colleagues. It would seem that in order to start working as a full-fledged doctor, a person must unlearn for many years. During this time, he really gets a lot of theoretical and practical knowledge, but even they are not enough for the successful treatment of a particular patient. This is due to the fact that the situation in the workplace is significantly different from what is taught at medical universities, so even a good young doctor who paid great attention to his training will not be ready for contact with a more or less complicated patient.
The ethics and deontology of the doctor requires him to support his young colleague. At the same time, talk about why this knowledge was not obtained during training is pointless. This may confuse the young doctor, he will no longer seek help, preferring to take risks, but not seek help from the person who condemned him. The best option would be to simply suggest what to do. For several months of practical work, the knowledge that was obtained at the university will be supplemented by experience and the young doctor will be able to cope with almost any patient.
Relations between administration and health workers
Ethics and deontology of medical personnel are also relevant in the framework of such interaction. The fact is that representatives of the administration are doctors, even if they do not take a special part in treating the patient. All the same, they must adhere to strict rules in dealing with their subordinates. If the administration quickly does not make decisions on situations where the basic principles of medical ethics and deontology have been violated, then it may lose valuable workers or simply make their attitude to their duties formal.
The relationship of the administration with its subordinates should be confidential. The hospital management is really disadvantageous when their employee makes a mistake, therefore, if the head doctor and the medical director are in their places, they will always try to protect their staff, both from a moral point of view and from a legal one.
General principles of ethics and deontology
In addition to private moments in the relationship between the various categories, one way or another related to medical activity, there are also general ones that are relevant for everyone.
First of all, the doctor must be educated. The deontology and ethics of the medical staff as a whole, not just the doctor, prescribes in no case to harm the patient. Naturally, everyone has knowledge gaps, but the doctor must try to fill them as soon as possible, because the health of other people depends on this.
The rules of ethics and deontology apply to the appearance of medical personnel. Otherwise, the patient is unlikely to have sufficient respect for such a doctor. This can lead to non-compliance with the recommendations of the doctor, which will aggravate the patient's condition. At the same time, the purity of the dressing gown is prescribed not only in streamlined formulations of ethics and deontology, but also in health standards.
Modern conditions require medical professionals to comply with corporate ethics. If it is not guided by it, then the profession of a medical professional, who today is already experiencing a crisis of trust on the part of patients, will become even less respected.
What happens if the rules of ethics and deontology are violated?
In the event that a medical professional has done something not very significant, even if it contradicts the foundations of ethics and deontology, then his deprivation and conversation with the head doctor may be his maximum punishment. There are more serious incidents. We are talking about those situations when a physician is really out of the ordinary, capable of harming not only his personal reputation, but also the prestige of the entire medical institution. In this case, a commission on ethics and deontology is convening. It should include almost the entire administration of a medical institution. If the commission meets at the request of another health worker, he is also required to attend.
This event is somewhat reminiscent of a trial. Based on the results of its conduct, the commission issues a verdict. He can both justify the accused employee and bring him a lot of trouble, up to the dismissal from his post. Moreover, this measure is used only in the most exceptional situations.
Why are ethics, as well as deontology not always respected?
First of all, this circumstance is associated with the commonplace burnout syndrome, which is so characteristic of doctors. It can occur among workers of any specialties, whose duties include constant communication with people, but it is with doctors that this condition proceeds most quickly and reaches its maximum severity. This is due to the fact that in addition to constant communication with many people, doctors are constantly in a state of tension, because a person’s life often depends on their decisions.
In addition, people who are far from always suitable to work as doctors receive a medical education . However, we are not talking about the volume of necessary knowledge. The ability to communicate with people and the desire to do so are no less important here. Any good doctor, at least to some extent, should be worried about his work, as well as the fate of his patients. Without this, no deontology and ethics will be respected.
Often the physician himself is not to blame for non-compliance with ethics or deontology, although the accusations will fall on him. The fact is that the behavior of many patients is truly provocative and it is impossible to not respond to this.
About ethics and deontology in pharmaceuticals
Doctors also work in this area, and very, very much depends on their activities. Do not be surprised that there are also pharmaceutical ethics and deontology. First of all, they consist in the fact that pharmacists produce sufficiently high-quality drugs, as well as sell them at relatively affordable prices.
For a pharmacist, in no case is it permissible to launch a drug (even in his opinion, simply excellent) into mass production without serious clinical trials. The fact is that any drug is capable of causing a huge number of side effects, the harmful effect of which in aggregate exceeds the beneficial.
How to improve ethics and deontology?
No matter how trite it may sound, but a lot rests on monetary issues. It has been observed that in countries where doctors and other medical workers have a fairly high salary, the problem of ethics and deontology is not so acute. This is largely due to the slow development (in comparison with domestic doctors) of the burnout syndrome, since most foreign specialists do not have to think much about money, because their salaries are at a fairly high level.
It is also very important that the administration of the medical institution monitors compliance with ethical and deontological standards. Naturally, she herself will have to adhere to them. - . , , .
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