WHAT IS ‘MEDICAL ETHICS’ AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

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‘Ethics’ or ‘moral philosophy’ is the study of morals in
human conduct. Like all branches of philosophy, it deals
with the critical evaluation of assumptions and arguments.
Within the field of philosophy, ‘Medical ethics’
is the study of morals in the medical arena (Fig. 1.1).
In practice this means that medical ethics plays a role
wherever the question, ‘What ought to be done?’ is raised
in the medical context. Campbell and Higgs (1982)
describe three concepts of ‘ethics’ held by doctors:
1. Professional etiquette: the accepted conventions of a
social role
2. Synonymous with ‘morals or morality’
3. Moral philosophy: the critical study of morality.
In the past, many medical schools did not formally
teach ethics. It was thought that the student would be
able to learn what was considered right and wrong by
observation of senior doctors, and by doing as they did.
The explicit teaching of ethics aims to help to foster
an ability to make rational, moral decisions – rather than to
simply do things as they have been done before.
The importance of this for the medical student, in
real life and in exams, is that it is not just the conclusion
you reach that is important. Rather, it is also the strength
and coherence of the arguments that lead you to your
conclusion, which are important.

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