Is care a virtue for health care professionals?

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Professional Virtues in Healthcare

Background:

• Care is widely regarded as a crucial role virtue for health care professionals (HCPs).
• The prevailing view posits that HCPs should not only provide medical treatment but also emotionally care for patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically examine the assumed virtue of 'care' as a professional trait for HCPs.
• To evaluate the potential negative consequences of 'care' for both HCPs and patients.
• To propose an alternative ethical framework prioritizing benevolence and caring actions.

Main Methods:

• Philosophical argumentation and ethical analysis.
• Examination of the detrimental effects of the character trait of 'care' on HCPs and patients.
• Comparative analysis of 'care' versus 'benevolence plus caring action'.

Main Results:

• The character trait of 'care' leads to significant problems for both caring HCPs and the patients they care for.
• A combination of benevolence and caring actions results in fewer and less severe issues compared to the trait of 'care'.

Conclusions:

• Care, as a character trait, is argued to be a vice rather than a virtue for HCPs.
• HCPs should prioritize benevolence and engage in caring actions, rather than embodying the trait of 'care'.
• This reframing of professional ethics in healthcare aims to improve patient outcomes and professional well-being.