8. Ethics in Paramedicine

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Host

Ole Olson - Critical Care Paramedic and Paramedic Practice Leader with BCEHS

Guests

Nina Preto, Ethicist, [email protected]

Alexandra Olmos Perez, Ethicist, [email protected]

Date of Episode Release:

January 15, 2019

Episode Description & Summary

Ethics is a philosophical discipline. It reflects on questions such as: What is valuable? What is good/bad? Is this right/wrong? Why do we think this is right or wrong?

When we say we want to act ethically, we mean that we want to act according to our values, to what we think is important. Sometimes, we may encounter a situation in which we are not sure what to do because there are many options or courses of actions to choose from. Our values will help guide us in choosing what the right thing to do is. When the situation is such that we have to choose between two different values, we are encountering an ethical dilemma.

In the biomedical ethics field, there are many relevant principles, but there are 4 key principles that constitute the most widespread amongst the contemporary Western tradition: Respect for Autonomy, Beneficence, Non-maleficence, and Justice.

In order to have a more clear picture of the situation we are dealing with, there are certain tools that help us understand the situation better, and guide us in breaking down what our options are, and having a thorough analysis of their consequences, but mostly setting the ground for an open discussion, knowing who should be involved and what is really at stake. These are what we call ethics frameworks.

The EHS Ethics framework can be found online: https://intranet.bcas.ca/areas/qsrma/qps/pdf/bcehs-ethics-framework.pdf

Within an emergency care environment, sometimes there is no time to go through the five steps and engage in discussion with others, and must immediately make a choice and sometimes is hard to make a sound ethically justified decision within seconds. And this is when most providers go to the JAY Tool, which stands for:

J – Justifiable: Would I be able to justify my decision.

A - Accountable: Would my peers and coworkers perform this action? Do I think other team members would do the same in my situation? Would they make the same choice?

Y – You: Would you want this, if you were the patient?

To learn more about the BC EHS Ethics Framework or for any ethics related questions please contact the PHSA Ethics Service:

Alice Virani, Director

[email protected]

Nina Preto, Ethicist

[email protected]

Alexandra Olmos Perez, Ethicist

[email protected]

You can also find more about ethics at PHSA on the POD: http://2pod.phsa.ca/quality-safety/ethics/Pages/default.aspx

Question? Comments? Email: [email protected]