Ethical behavior Essay

One of the primary rules of conduct in the medical profession is â€Å"First, do no harm,† and it is upon this directive that most matters of ethics in medicine can be grounded. Ethical behavior rests on this principle. It is the norm and is what is expected from all doctors and nurses. For instance, providing a patient with all relevant information to enable him to make an informed decision on whether to undergo surgery or not is considered ethical and proper. Most unethical behavior, on the other hand, stems from a desire for profit, although the actual participants (nurses, in particular) in an unethical act may only be taking part to preserve their job. A blatant (although unlikely) example of unethical behavior in a doctor would be the performance of surgery while under the influence of alcohol or another substance that adversely affects mental functions. Another is the recommendation and performance of unnecessary surgery (where simpler treatments would have sufficed) for extra profit. For many doctors and nurses, committing ethical or unethical acts is partly a matter of conforming to their organization’s rules. Ethical dilemmas relate directly to the organizational effectiveness of the system of doctors and nurses who work together—participation in ethical and unethical acts has a direct bearing on the efficiency of this system. In the case of routine circumcision, for example, a doctor may choose to continue encouraging new parents to get their babies circumcised because it would mean extra profit, in spite of the misgivings of his fellow doctors. However, it is not only the â€Å"cooperative† aspect of ethical and unethical behavior that is significant. Even if all members of an organization agree to cooperate in unethical behavior, an awareness of the â€Å"unethicality† of their actions can leave a seriously negative impression on the organization’s members, which could adversely affect their performance and thus render the organization much less than optimally efficient. It would therefore be towards the benefit of an organization to abide by practices that are generally considered ethical.