Law & Ethics for the Health Professions Chapter 2

Autonomy

The capacity to be one's own person and make one's own decisions without being manipulated by external forces

Beneficence

Acts performed by a health care practitioner to help people stay healthy or recover from illness

Categorical Imperative

A rule that is considered universal law binding on everyone and requiring action

Confidentiality

Keeping medical information strictly private

Deontological or Duty-oriented Theory

Decision-making theory that states that the rightness or wrongness of the act depends on its intrinsic nature and not the outcome of the act

Justice

Providing to an individual what is his or her due

Needs-Based Motivation

The theory that human behavior is based on specific human needs that must often be met in a specific order. Abraham Maslow is the best known psychologist for this theory

nonmaleficence

The duty to do no harm

Principle of Utility

Used in utilitarianism; requires that the rule used in making a decision must bring about positive results when generalized to a wide variety of situations

Role Fidelity

Being faithful to the scope of the services for which you are licensed, certified, or registered

Teleological or Consequence-oriented Theory

Decision-making theory that judges the rightness or wrongness based on the outcomes or predicted outcomes

Utilitarianism

A consequence-oriented theory that states that decisions should be made by determining what results will produce the best outcome for the most people

Veracity

Truth telling

Virtue ethics

Refers to the theory that people who have moral virtues will make the right decisions