Examine the basis of your ethical values

Ethics Forum. July 4, 2005.

Scenario: How do medical ethics and religious beliefs mix in patient care settings?

In an informal online poll in the May issue of Virtual Mentor, the ethics journal of the American Medical Association, 62% of the responding physicians agreed strongly or agreed somewhat that their medical ethics derived from their religious beliefs. Do you agree? If so, how do your beliefs influence the patient-physician relationship?

Reply:

Medical ethics is perceived by many as being secular. It may thus seem surprising even in a small sample that 65% of physicians support the statement "my medical ethics derives from my religious beliefs." Is this really so surprising?

Should I inform my patients if I, too, support this statement? Are personal belief and professional ethics in conflict?

Perhaps more surprising is the premise behind the inquiry--that medical ethics varies from one individual to another. I'm not sure this is true. Clearly individual beliefs could color or even determine an individual's application of the profession's ethics; however, there is more in common among medical professionals than there is separating them.

Admittedly, there is ongoing debate about the foundation for contemporary medical ethics. Some say it is based on virtue (Edmund Pellegrino and David Thomasma), others on prima facie principles (Tom Beauchamp and James Childress), still others on consequences or on narrative.