No matter where you work or what you do for a living, having principles and displaying them on the job are critically important for a number of reasons. The importance of adhering to commonly accepted principles in your field is perhaps most important in the medical field due to the numerous tolls not doing so can take on your career. This guide will go over the importance of applying the correct principles to your work as a healthcare provider.
Ethical concerns
Many principles encouraged or required in a field have been put in place because of ethical reasons. When you are someone’s healthcare provider, that is a very intimate and trusting relationship. That makes it all the more important that healthcare providers adhere to medical ethics principles every time they interact with their patients. For example, you cannot perform a procedure on a patient who did not understand or consent fully to it. That patient would have every right to sue you in court and you would in all likelihood lose any medical certification you have acquired.
Legal concerns
Healthcare providers must adhere to a strict set of principles in order to avoid potential legal action from patients and others. It is considered malpractice if you go into surgery while extremely exhausted or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, for example, and this can have serious legal consequences, including not being allowed to practice medicine again.
Concerns about your reputation
Professionals bank their reputations on each and every decision they make. This is even more true in the medical field where not adhering to accepted principles can completely ruin your reputation. Medical professionals who do not follow the correct principles will not be respected in the medical community or by their patients, and will in all likelihood lose business.
Concerns about safety
Not following correct and established principles, procedures and conduct at work, particularly in a hospital setting, can not only endanger others but yourself as well. You might catch or spread disease by not covering yourself properly, or cause injury when attempting to do something you should not have been attempting to do. This goes against the non-maleficence requirement in medical ethics, because you could be causing harm.
It’s imperative that medical professionals have a keen understanding of principles they are expected to adhere to and then follow them. There are a whole number of negative consequences that can happen to healthcare professionals who do not adhere, and so it is very important for medical students to understand wholly and fully established medical ethics as they look to be a part of this growing, exciting field.
How do you ensure you are applying the correct principles to your work? Tell us in the comments below.
I’m a freelance writer and blogger who focuses on business, health and other various topics. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communication from UCLA and currently reside in Santa Cruz with my dog, Sassy.
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