As
a healthcare practitioner, you will have to resolve ethical dilemmas that
require you to integrate your own moral reasoning with that of all parties
involved - patients, their significant others, and practitioners from
within and outside of your discipline - and to temper this reasoning with
the practical realities of the situation. You will need to look beyond
your own values and work to facilitate an environment that promotes the
critical exchange of ideas and collaboration among all involved. Skills
and strategies involved in values clarification, communication, negotiation,
mediation, and teamwork will serve you well as you work toward successful
resolution of complex moral issues.
The ethical decision-making model you've learned here provides a framework
for examining and studying ethical issues individually or as a group.
Following this process will help you organize the facts and contextual
paramaters of the dilemma, so that you can look at the situation objectively
and choose a course of action based on logic, rather than emotions.
To test this process, reconsider one of the ethical issues from the Reflection
section, or think about another dilemma you've faced. Working alone or
with one or more of your colleagues, use this Ethical
Decision-Making Worksheet to find resolution.
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