Role of Ethics in Healthcare Leadership Essay

Ethics and leadership are indivisible. For an individual to be an active leader, they must be ethical. Ralston and Schroeder (2015) define ethics as the values that dictate individual’s behaviors or way of doing things.

Ethics influences the decisions that a leader makes, particularly when in a dilemma. An ethical leader makes decisions based on the best interest of their subordinates. Such a leader is selfless and always willing to set aside personal interests for the good of the cohorts. Ethics is paramount in the healthcare industry as practitioners encounter challenging circumstances involving patients. Numerous ethical principles guide decision-making in the healthcare sector. The two primary moral laws that are applicable in the healthcare industry are nonmaleficence and beneficence.Role of Ethics in Healthcare Leadership Essay

Ethical Principles

The principle of nonmaleficence is a significant component of Hippocratic moral teaching. According to Macklin (2015), nonmaleficence means not to harm (p. 14). Numerous theories explain the concept of harm from the healthcare perspective. Consequentialists hold that harm refers to anything, which results in less or prevents good. On the other hand, natural law ethicists refer to harm as anything that contravenes people’s rational nature and constrains their potential.

Anything that deteriorates the health condition of a patient can be termed as harm. A challenge arises in determining what constitutes harm in the medical field since the majority of the treatment procedures involve distress and pain. Macklin (2015) claims that harm may arise in different ways in the healthcare sector. For instance, failure by the administration to supervise operations may result in inefficient service delivery, which might affect patients. In healthcare, leaders apply the principle of nonmaleficence in formulation and implementation of policies. They avoid implementing policies that may bar patients from accessing vital healthcare services.Role of Ethics in Healthcare Leadership Essay

Ralston and Schroeder (2015) allege, “the principle of beneficence demands a level of altruism that is absent from simply refraining from harm” (p. 1085). In other words, beneficence does not only entail avoiding harming other parties. Healthcare practitioners are obliged to engage in activities meant to assist patients. Beneficence is opposed to ethical egoism because it contributes to selfishness, which might be dangerous to healthcare.

Application of Principles

Healthcare administrators use the principle of nonmaleficence to resolve challenges associated with service delivery. They are supposed to ensure that healthcare facilities offer necessary treatment without aggravating patient’s suffering. Administrators make sure that professionals with relevant levels of training and skills provide healthcare services. Moreover, they formulate policies that safeguard patient’s dignity and physical health. Gabel (2013) avers, “Nonmaleficence is complicated when advanced technology is part of the regimen” (p. 57).

Healthcare leaders use the principle of nonmaleficence to resolve challenges attributed to euthanasia. They evaluate the patient’s condition and the extent of suffering before making a decision. The majority of the healthcare professionals prefer withholding treatment to withdrawing it at a later stage if the patient does not improve. They argue that pulling out therapy is more harmful to a patient than withholding it.Role of Ethics in Healthcare Leadership Essay