Surgical ethics: a framework for surgeons, patients, and society

Summary The practice of surgery is based on the technical capabilities of the surgeon (techne), their knowledge (episteme) and their capacity of judgment (phronesis). Surgeons face situations that call into question moral choices and face ethical difficulties in their daily practice. In fact, innova...

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Main Author: Diana Cardenas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Colégio Brasileiro de Cirurgiões 2020-06-01
Series:Revista do Colégio Brasileiro de Cirurgiões
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-69912020000100701&tlng=en
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author Diana Cardenas
author_facet Diana Cardenas
author_sort Diana Cardenas
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description Summary The practice of surgery is based on the technical capabilities of the surgeon (techne), their knowledge (episteme) and their capacity of judgment (phronesis). Surgeons face situations that call into question moral choices and face ethical difficulties in their daily practice. In fact, innovation is increasing, and as operations become more complex and the risks become greater, the tools necessary to approach an ethically challenging surgical case become more important. Surgical ethics can be distinguished from other medical ethics fields because of its unique characteristics and goals. Ethics lie at the core of professionalism: a proficient surgeon is considered to be not only competent to perform the art and science of surgery as traditionally understood, but also to be ethically and morally reliable. The principlism and the four-box model approaches to clinical ethics could serve as a guide to the surgical ethics discussion. There are five categories of experience and relationships that are especially important in surgery-rescue, proximity, ordeal, aftermath and presence. Ethical reasoning should help surgeons to gives answers to the questions: What should be done? Has the right decision in this situation been made? The following article is presented with the intent of encouraging thought and dialogue about ethical considerations relevant to the practice of surgery. For that reason, we will first define the scope of surgical ethics, then we will present the main ethical issues faced by surgeons and how surgeons deal with them. Finally, I will show the implications of the development of surgery ethics for patients, surgeons and society.
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spelling doaj.art-e5e8086b15db475995ed936de8c1e8ef2022-12-21T19:33:41ZengColégio Brasileiro de CirurgiõesRevista do Colégio Brasileiro de Cirurgiões1809-45462020-06-014710.1590/0100-6991e-20202519Surgical ethics: a framework for surgeons, patients, and societyDiana Cardenashttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0709-0307Summary The practice of surgery is based on the technical capabilities of the surgeon (techne), their knowledge (episteme) and their capacity of judgment (phronesis). Surgeons face situations that call into question moral choices and face ethical difficulties in their daily practice. In fact, innovation is increasing, and as operations become more complex and the risks become greater, the tools necessary to approach an ethically challenging surgical case become more important. Surgical ethics can be distinguished from other medical ethics fields because of its unique characteristics and goals. Ethics lie at the core of professionalism: a proficient surgeon is considered to be not only competent to perform the art and science of surgery as traditionally understood, but also to be ethically and morally reliable. The principlism and the four-box model approaches to clinical ethics could serve as a guide to the surgical ethics discussion. There are five categories of experience and relationships that are especially important in surgery-rescue, proximity, ordeal, aftermath and presence. Ethical reasoning should help surgeons to gives answers to the questions: What should be done? Has the right decision in this situation been made? The following article is presented with the intent of encouraging thought and dialogue about ethical considerations relevant to the practice of surgery. For that reason, we will first define the scope of surgical ethics, then we will present the main ethical issues faced by surgeons and how surgeons deal with them. Finally, I will show the implications of the development of surgery ethics for patients, surgeons and society.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-69912020000100701&tlng=enEthicsSurgeryPrinciple-Based Ethics
spellingShingle Diana Cardenas
Surgical ethics: a framework for surgeons, patients, and society
Revista do Colégio Brasileiro de Cirurgiões
Ethics
Surgery
Principle-Based Ethics
title Surgical ethics: a framework for surgeons, patients, and society
title_full Surgical ethics: a framework for surgeons, patients, and society
title_fullStr Surgical ethics: a framework for surgeons, patients, and society
title_full_unstemmed Surgical ethics: a framework for surgeons, patients, and society
title_short Surgical ethics: a framework for surgeons, patients, and society
title_sort surgical ethics a framework for surgeons patients and society
topic Ethics
Surgery
Principle-Based Ethics
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-69912020000100701&tlng=en
work_keys_str_mv AT dianacardenas surgicalethicsaframeworkforsurgeonspatientsandsociety