Ethics: the evidence of leadership

Today's leaders in health care are being challenged by many demands and issues. To confront these many demands, health care leaders must have the ability to make decisions based on ethics. To ensure the survivability of an organization, the leadership must have values grounded on ethical principles. The problem in today's health care organizations is that not enough emphasis is being placed on a culture of ethics within the organization and within the behavior of the leadership. This article addresses the ethical issues facing today's health care leaders. In this article, an overview of the history and philosophy of ethics is provided along with definitions, guidelines, and a model to assist the leadership in health care organization to pursue and to adhere to a more ethical course.