Medical Ethics

Abstract

Broadly speaking, ethics is concerned with the wellbeing of individuals and societies and asks questions about what we ought to do. “Practical ethics” or “applied ethics” considers this in specific contexts, such as medicine, government, law enforcement and business. “Bioethics” is one type of practical ethics. Bioethics refers to the ethics of the biological sciences and includes medical ethics, nursing ethics, pharmacy/pharmaceutical ethics, research ethics, psychological ethics, public health ethics and research ethics. Broad conceptions of bioethics also include environmental ethics and the ethics of veterinary practice. This chapter focuses on the key issues that emerge in the context of clinical medical practice (“medical ethics”) and on the frameworks that one might use to resolve these issues.