Ruth Purtilo's (2005) text, Ethical dimensions in the health professions, presents a comprehensive analysis of the key ethical challenges in the health professions. Purtilo (2005) segments her analysis of ethical issues impacting upon health care providers into five areas: the nature of morality and ethics, the ethical dimensions of professional roles, ethical dimensions of the patient-caregiver relationship, ethical issues related to en-of-life care, and ethical issues in the social context of health care. Using a combination of theoretical analysis and case studies, Purtilo (2005) argues that an "ethic of care" must necessarily permeate all actions undertaken by health care providers. The goal of the text is to delineate the major issues in the field and the most appropriate responses to those issues; central to the argument made by Purtilo (2005) is the field's emphasis on doing no harm and employing high ethical standards for professional conduct in all instances. Identifying conflict between an ethic of care and duty and other considerations including the autonomy of the patient and the demands of the legal system is a key concern for Purtilo (2005), who also calls for cultural sensitivity in an increasingly multicultural practice setting as well as recognition of the inherent dignity of the patient.
Introduction to Ethical Dimensions in Health Professions
In this section of the text, Purtilo (2005) differentiates between morality per se and moral values, which inform ethical behavior at the individual, professional, and societal levels. She goes on to identify the ethical goal of professional practice as consisting of choosing courses of action which position the caregiver as a moral agent. Drawing upon various theories of ethics such as virtue ethics, ethic of care, justice, and deontologic and teleologic theories, Purtilo (2005) makes it clear that ethical challenges abound in the health professions from the ...