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Are doctors altruistic?

W Glannon1, L F Ross

  • 1Biomedical Ethics Unit, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

Journal of Medical Ethics
|April 6, 2002
PubMed
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This summary is machine-generated.

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Physicians have a duty of beneficence, not altruism, towards patients. Patients, however, often act altruistically, deserving gratitude and respect for their contributions to medicine and the doctor-patient relationship.

Area of Science:

  • Medical Ethics
  • Philosophy of Medicine
  • Professionalism in Healthcare

Background:

  • A common perception exists in the US that medicine is an altruistic profession.
  • Physicians are widely believed to exhibit altruism in their daily practice.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To differentiate between beneficence and altruism in the context of the medical profession.
  • To re-evaluate the role of altruism within the doctor-patient relationship.
  • To explore the fiduciary responsibility inherent in medical professionalism.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of ethical terms: beneficence and altruism.
  • Examination of the doctor-patient relationship through a moral lens.
  • Review of examples illustrating altruistic behavior in patients.
Keywords:
Professional Patient Relationship

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Main Results:

  • The core of medical professionalism lies in fiduciary responsibility, best termed beneficence, which is an obligation.
  • Altruism, by definition, is supererogatory and beyond obligation.
  • Patients frequently demonstrate altruistic actions, acting as 'gift-bearers' in medicine.

Conclusions:

  • Physicians' primary ethical obligation is beneficence, not altruism.
  • Patients' altruism warrants recognition, gratitude, and respect from physicians.
  • Understanding this distinction enhances the comprehension of the moral significance in the modern doctor-patient relationship.