How to "Do Ethics" in Pediatrics Practice: A Framework for Addressing Everyday Ethics Issues

Abstract

Pediatricians have a fiduciary responsibility to advocate for the best interests of their patients. They accomplish this through the therapeutic alliance with the patient and their parent. In everyday clinical medicine, the pediatrician may be faced with challenging situations. When a case raises concerns, the pediatrician needs to determine if the issues relate to ethical obligations and whether they are in conflict. To resolve the concerns, a systematic process for gathering, organizing, and analyzing the facts of a case is needed to discern morally permissible options. This article presents a framework for performing an ethics case analysis.

Keywords: Decision making; Ethics; Morality; Principles; Professional obligations; Virtues.