Code of Ethics

• Ethics

  • employs the faculty of reasoning in tackling the important question of what makes an upright life
  • principles of conduct governing an individual or group
  • Ethics is a noble science
• Bioethics - philosophical study of ethical controversies about advances in biology and medicine
• Bioethics - the study of human behavior in the field of life sciences as examined in the life of moral values & principles
• General Ethics - deals with basic principle which are the morality of human acts
• Social Ethics - basic principles affecting man as a member og ofsociety
• Professional Ethics - branch of moral science concerned with the obligations which a member of a profession owes to the public, to his profession, and to his clients
• Main Objective of Professional Code of Ethics (1-3)

  1. To define professional privileges,behaviors and responsibilities towardsthe members of the community ingeneral.
  2. To promote professional quality, professional conduct and a moral method of procedures.
  3. To defend private professions from undue interference by the government or by other agencies.
• Objective of Professional Code of Ethics (4-6):

  1. To preserve the dignity of the profession and the confidence of the public.
  2. To defend clients from unscrupulous individuals.
  3. To fix certain standards of the compensations for services or work.
• Code of Ethics (1-3) As I enter the practice of Medical Technology:

  1. I accept the responsibilities inherent to being a professional
  2. I shall uphold the law and shall not participate in illegal work
  3. Act in a spirit of fairness to all and in a spirit of brotherhood toward other members of the profession
• Accept the responsibilities inherent to being a professional:

  • deontology: adhere to obligations and duties
  • Upholding one's duties
• Uphold the law and shall not participate in illegal work:

  • Legalism and Voluntarism: law is the ultimate standard of right and wrong
  • law obliges because it is the will of the lawgiver
• Act in a spirit of fairness to all and in a spirit of brotherhood toward other members of the profession:

  • brotherliness
  • principle of Justice: giving to one his own and his right
• Code of Ethics (4-6):

  • Accept employment from more than one employer when there is no conflict of interest
  • Perform my task with full confidence, absolute reliability and accuracy
  • Share my knowledge and expertise with my colleagues
• Accept employment from more than one employer only when there is no conflict of interest:

  • a subject of legal liabillity
  • work ethics
  • conflict of interest breaches the duty of loyalty
• Perform my task with full confidence, absolute reliability, and assurance:

  • beneficence and Non-maleficence: to do good and to do no harm
  • utilitarianism: attempt to generate the largest ratio of good
  • Ethical Theory: Consequentialism
• Duty of care - applying knowledge, skills, diligence, and caution when caring to patients
• Share knowledge and expertise with my colleagues:

  • Principle of charity
  • should have continuing professional education
  • maintain state-of-the-art skills
  • lifelong learning is concomitant to pursuing this profession
• Code of Ethics (7-9):

  • Contribute to the advancement of the professional organization and other allied health organization
  • Restrict my praises, criticisms, views, and opinions within constructive limits
  • Treat any information I acquired from the course of my work as strictly confidential
• PAMET - professional organization of MT

  • PAMET is part of APO (Association of Professional Organizations)
• PASMETH - allied health organization of schools of MT
• Restrict my praises, criticisms, views, and opinions within constructive limits:

  • ethics of character - what sort of people should you be?
  • ethics of conduct - what sort of actions should we perform?
  • Professionalism - conforming to technical and ethical standards
• Treat any information I acquired from the course of my work as strictly confidential:

  • Confidentiality application of secrecy
• Revised Code of Ethics

  A) illegal

  B) questionable

  C) employer, clients, contractors, employees

  D) fraternity

  E) conflict

  F) full confidence

  G) fairness and honesty

  H) review

  I) praises, criticisms, views, and opinions

  J) confidential

  K) Ethics Committee

  
• Uphold the dignity and respect to my profession and conduct myself a reputation of reliability, honesty, and integrity

  • Principled Values:
  • dignity
  • respect
  • right conduct
  • reliability
  • honesty
  • integrity
• Ethics Committee of Professional Practice and Ethics - new term for Ethics Committee of the Philippine Association of Medical Technologists
• Hippocratic Oath


  the basis of Medical Ethics; made in 5th century BC and was attributed to Hippocrates
• Nuremberg Code

  • formulated when Nazis' experiments before and during WWII came to light during the Nuremberg Trial
  • experiments were not initially illegal because there were no legal framework for such research
• Nuremberg Code (1-5):

  1. Voluntary consent is absolutely necessary
  2. Experiment must yield useful results not otherwise obtainable by other means
  3. Study protocol must be designed to achieve those useful results
  4. should be conducted to avoid suffering / injury
  5. No experimentation allowed when there is the expectation that death or serious injury could result
• Nuremburg Code (6-10):

  1. Degree of risk must be outweighed buy expected benefit
  2. good preparation and appropriate facilities must be available
  3. to be conducted by scientifically qualified persons
  4. volunteers are free to withdraw at any time
  5. Experiment must be terminated if new information makes the research redundant, or leads to an increase in the expectations of death / injury
• Physician's Oath

  • Oath within the Declaration of Geneva
  • Values:
  • Informed Consent
  • Beneficence / Non-maleficence
  • Autonomy / Informed Decision-Making
  • Justice
  • Respect for Human Rights / non-discrimination
  • Confidentiality
• Declaration of Helsinki

  • Declaration by the General Assembly of the World Medical Association (WMA)
  • held essentially same principles with Nuremberg
  • recognised that medical procedures involve hazards and risk
  • drew distinction between research aimed to specific increase in kwowledge, and more pure research
• Framework for Review of Medical Practice

  • Scientific - peer reviewed / evidence-based
  • Legal - employer must consider legality
  • Ethical - independent committee or professional body
  • Logistics - employer must confirm resources available
• Just because something is legal doesn't make it ethical and vice versa
• Professional Ethics

  • can be applied to personal and organizational standards of practice
  • can make judgments / decisions that the public cannot make
  • Core Values: Honesty, Integrity, Objectivity
• Codes of Professional Ethics are established by professional organizations to help guide the members
• Professional Bodies do not determine the acceptable standards of practice, only guide such standards
• Profession - a vocation requiring advanced education and training

  • a group pursuing a learned art as a common calling in the spirit of public service
  • to supply objective counsel and service for a direct and definite compensation
• Components of Professional Ethics:

  1. Honesty
  2. Integrity
  3. Transparency
  4. Accountability
  5. Confidentiality
  6. Objectivity
  7. Respecfulness
  8. Obedience to the Law
• Honesty

  • integrity, trustworthiness, and straightforward
  • absence of lying, cheating, and theft
• Integrity

  • consistency of actions, values, and outcomes
  • Opposite of hypocrisy