Framework for Ethical Decision Making

Every single decision made in our lives are made with the consideration, or lack thereof, of ethical values.  While there are usually many other aspects taken into thought when making a decision, most of those are not based solely on ethical or moral reasoning. Ethical decisions are not made based on a person’s feelings, their religious background, the legal system, being cultural acceptable, or based on science. There are five factors, or approaches, that follow every ethical decision made. Those approaches are:

·         The Utilitarian Approach

·         The Rights Approach

·         The Fairness or Justice Approach

·         The Virtue Approach

·         The Common Good Approach

To understand the different approaches, the first one, the utilitarian approach states, “Of any two actions, the most ethical one will produce the greatest balance of benefits over harms.” The second approach, the rights approach, states, "Act in ways that respect the dignity of other persons by honoring or protecting their legitimate moral rights." The fairness approach states "Treat people the same unless there are morally relevant differences between them." The fifth approach, the virtue approach, states "What is ethical is what develops moral virtues in ourselves and our communities." The last and final approach, the common good approach, states "What is ethical is what advances the common good."

I believe that the majority of professionals working in the healthcare field understand and act and make decisions with the consideration of proper ethics because most enter the field to give something of value back to their communities. Errors are, I believe, just an accidental lapse in judgment, or an unintentional mistake.