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Essential ethics for EMS: cardinal virtues and core principles.
Gregory Luke Larkin1, Raymond Logan Fowler
1Parkland Memorial Hospital, University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA. gregory.larkin@utsouthwestern.edu
Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America
|December 13, 2002
Summary
Fostering virtue and character in emergency medical services (EMS) teams is crucial for ethical practice. Team building and character development enhance performance and accountability in prehospital care.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
- Professional Virtues
Background:
- Ethical dilemmas are prevalent in out-of-hospital settings.
- Risks in EMS include abandonment, competence issues, and driving safety.
- The character of EMS providers is central to addressing these risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To emphasize the importance of virtue and character in EMS.
- To propose proactive strategies for ethical practice in prehospital care.
- To highlight the need for character and team building in EMS training.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of ethical principles in EMS.
- Discussion of the role of personal and professional virtue.
- Emphasis on team building and character development in training.
Main Results:
- Attention to virtue, teamwork, and patient autonomy addresses ethical dilemmas.
- Fostering provider virtue acts as a 'moral vaccination' against ethical pitfalls.
- Character and team building are essential for optimal EMS performance and accountability.
Conclusions:
- EMS providers' character must be strengthened beyond technological capabilities.
- Well-orchestrated teams with disciplined, virtuous members are vital.
- Prioritizing character and teamwork ensures the best care for patients and colleagues.