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Love and death: existential dimensions of physicians' difficulties with moral problems
1Department of Humanities, College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey 17033.
The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy
|November 1, 1988
Summary
Physicians experience moral distress beyond ethical issues, stemming from existential conflicts related to their personhood. Understanding this deeper level offers new insights into medical practice and physician well-being.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Philosophy of Medicine
- Psychology of Healthcare Professionals
Background:
- Physicians frequently report moral distress, often exceeding what is expected given current professional and social agreements.
- Commonly identified sources include ethical, technical, and behavioral challenges.
- However, a deeper, existential level of moral difficulty is also observed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the existential roots of moral distress in physicians.
- To analyze moral difficulties at the level of physicians' personhood.
- To propose new perspectives on the physician's interpersonal environment in medical practice.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative analysis of physicians' moral dilemmas.
- Examination of existential factors influencing moral distress.
- Exploration of the physician's subjective experience in medical contexts.
Main Results:
- Physician discomfort in moral dilemmas extends to an existential level.
- This existential distress is linked to the fundamental processes of becoming a person.
- The physician's personal experience and interpersonal environment are crucial.
Conclusions:
- Moral distress in physicians has existential dimensions rooted in personhood.
- Addressing these existential conflicts requires focusing on the physician as an individual.
- New perspectives on the interpersonal dynamics of medical practice can be derived from this analysis.