Online research in philosophy

Personal values have long been associated with individual decision behavior. The role played by personal values in decision making within an organization is less clear. Past research has found that managers tend to respond to ethical dilemmas situationally. This study examines the relationship between personal values and the ethical dimension of decision making using Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis. The study examines personal values as they relate to five types of ethical dilemmas. We found a significant positive contribution of altruistic values to ethical decision making and a significant negative contribution of self-enhancement values to ethical decision making.

Integrating theory with case studies, this book examines the practical application of moral theory in clinical decision-making through 40 composite cases based on actual clinical experience. Complex, realistic, and challenging, these examples contain the multiplicity of factors faced in clinical crises, making this a superb exploration of the ways in which theory relates to actual life-or-death situations.

Philosophers have long recognized that the unique values of the individual physician effect medical-ethical decision-making. While not taking issue with this basic assumption, this article critically examines one discussion of how different philosophies (existential, utilitarian, and value realist) can influence a neurosurgeon's decision to operate upon a person having a malignant brain tumor. It also delineates and discusses a fund of ‘medical wisdom’ commonly available to any neurosurgeon and easily obtainable by both researcher and patient. The article suggests that those in the humanities interested in studying the ethical decision-making process in a medical subspecialty become familiar with this fund of knowledge. It can provide a base for evaluating when and how individual medical decisions vary. In this specific instance, the medical knowledge base was used to direct attention to when and how ethical issues are identified and resolved within the staff clinical neurosurgical setting. An informal survey among resident and staff neurosurgeons supported the conclusion that philosophical analyses of medical-ethical decision-making are appreciated when case examples are carefully and accurately documented, when medical terminology is used correctly and when recognition of the practical limits placed on medical decision-making is given. CiteULike Connotea Del.icio.us What's this?

Physicians have developed a number of implicit and explicit approaches to complex medical decisions. Decision analysis is an explicit, quantitative method of clinical decision making that involves the separation of the probabilities of events from their relative values, or utilities. Its use can help physicians make difficult choices in a manner that promotes true patient participation. Decision analysis also provides a framework for the incorporation of data from multiple sources and for the assessment of the impact of uncertain data on the final decision. Although this approach is imperfect, it represents a significant advance in clinical decision making. Keywords: Education, Medical Decision Making, Decision Theory CiteULike Connotea Del.icio.us What's this?

In contrast to theoretical discussions about potential professional liability of clinical ethicists, this report gives the results of empirical data gathered in a national survey of clinical medical ethicists. The report assesses the types of activities of clinical ethicists, the extent and types of their professional liability coverage, and the influence that concerns about legal liability has on how they function as clinical ethicists. In addition demographic data on age, sex, educational background, etc. are reported. The results show that while nearly one third (28.9%) of the ethicists regularly make recommendations about patient care, only 10.8% of them regularly make entries in the medical record; only approximately half (53.0%) of them are covered by professional liability (malpractice) insurance; and the vast majority (84.3%) of them say that concerns about legal liability do not influence the way they function as clinical ethicists.

The practice of clinical medicine is inextricably linked with the need for moral values and ethical principles. The study of medical ethics is, therefore, rightly assuming an increasingly significant place in undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses and in allied health curricula. Making Sense of Medical Ethics offers a no-nonsense introduction to the principles of medical ethics, as applied to the everyday care of patients, the development of novel therapies and the undertaking of pioneering basic medical research. Written from a practical rather than a philosophical perspective, the authors call upon their extensive experience of clinical practice, research and teaching to illustrate how ethical principles can be applied in different "real-life" situations. Making Sense of Medical Ethics encourages readers to understand the principles of medical ethics as they apply to clinical practice; explore and evaluate common misconceptions; consider the ethics underlying any medical decision; and as a result, to realize that a good appreciation of medical ethics will help them to practice more effectively in the future.

A study of nurses and nursing students was conducted to determine the various philosophical positions they hold with respect to ethical decision-making in nursing and their relationship to the subjective-objective controversy in value theory. The study revealed that most nurses and nursing students tend to be subjectivists in value theory, i.e., believe that value judgments are purely personal, private expressions of one's own opinion or inner-feelings and not believe that value judgments are knowledge claims capable of being true or false and therefore not expressions of moral requirements and normative imperatives emanating from an external value structure or moral order in the world. In addition, the study revealed that most nurses and nursing students are inconsistent in the philosophical foundations of their ethical decision-making, i.e., in decision-making regarding values they tend to hold beliefs which are incompatible with other beliefs they hold about values.

A study of physicians and medical students was conducted to determine the various philosophical positions they hold with respect to ethical decision-making in medicine and their epistemological presuppositions in relationship to the subjective-objective controversy in value theory. The study revealed that most physicians and medical students tend to be objectivists in value theory, i.e., believe that value judgements are knowledge claims capable of being true or false and are expressions of moral requirements and normative imperatives emanating from an external value structure or moral order in the world, but that most physicians and medical students are inconsistent in the philosophical foundations of their medical ethical decision-making, i.e., in decision-making regarding values they tend to hold beliefs which are incompatible with other beliefs they hold about values. The study also revealed that most physicians and medical students think more emphasis should be placed upon medical ethics in medical education.

Machine generated contents note: Introduction Chapter 1: The basics of ethical decision-making Chapter 2: Hospital ethics committees and clinical ethicists Chapter 3: The settings of health care ethical dilemmas Chapter 4: Advance directives Chapter 5: Do Not Resuscitate orders and "Code Blue" Chapter 6: Non-beneficial medical interventions Chapter 7: Quality of life and treatment burdens Chapter 8: Patient privacy and confidentiality Chapter 9: Refusing medical treatment Chapter 10: Health care at the end of life Chapter 11: Transplant ethics Chapter 12: Neuroethics Chapter 13: Ethics and reproductive technology Chapter 14: Genetics and ethics Chapter 15: Pediatric ethics Chapter 16: Participating in a research study Appendix A: Resource List Appendix B: Glossary Index.