The Ethics of Clinical Ethics

Area of Science:

• Bioethics
• Philosophy of Medicine
• Professional Ethics

Background:

• The definition and application of
• ethics
• in clinical ethics are often ambiguous.
• This ambiguity impacts professional identity, roles, training, and expertise of ethicists.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine two distinct understandings of clinical ethics: Real Ethics and Conventional Ethics.
• To critique the dominant Conventional Ethics paradigm and propose solutions for improving clinical ethics practice.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of bioethics literature.
• Examination of professional practice in clinical ethics.
• Conceptual critique of ethical paradigms.

Main Results:

• Conventional Ethics, based on bioethical consensus, is the dominant paradigm in clinical ethics.
• Conventional Ethics struggles with moral pluralism and fails to address crucial moral questions.
• The current practice of Conventional Ethics may not adequately serve those seeking assistance from ethicists.

Conclusions:

• The dominant Conventional Ethics paradigm faces significant limitations.
• Rethinking the foundations of clinical ethics is necessary to overcome challenges.
• Suggestions are provided to enhance the practice and effectiveness of clinical ethics.