- The correct and comprehensive treatment of a patient goes beyond curing their illness or discomfort.
- Characteristics such as caring and empathetic service should also prevail.
- The Mexican Academy of Surgery developed a decalogue with the actions that a doctor should avoid.
All medical universities offer the basic knowledge about diseases and illnesses that a health professional must master. There are too many, which is why so many years are needed. Although there is also another area that is rarely explored, although it is very important. It is about human treatment and that is why we share a decalogue with the actions that a doctor should never do with his patients.
In that sense, the base is always the medical ethics because it constitutes one of the fundamental pillars of this profession. It is also the one that establishes how the behavior of a professional should be in order to always act uprightly and correctly.
In this regard, all doctors are governed by four bioethical principles fundamental: autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and justice. The sum of all has the objective of guaranteeing the fulfillment of professional activities.
But in the same way that there are some aspects that should always prevail within the office, there are also others that should be avoided. In that sense, the Mexican Academy of Surgery he elaborated a decalogue with the actions that a doctor should avoid.
Respect in medical ethics
Every doctor is required to respect the life of the patient. In addition, you must also respect their time and everything inherent to their integrity. In this context, as a doctor:
- It is frowned upon for you to divert your attention to other matters while attending to a patient. The exception, of course, is that you have to attend an emergency.
- Never discriminate against any patient because of their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation.
- Value judgments should not be made regarding the personal aspects of the patient’s life, for example substance abuse, number of sexual partners, etc.
Empathy
We must never lose sight of the fact that the patient goes to the doctor not out of sympathy, but out of necessity and generally in a situation of vulnerability, therefore:
- You must not exercise any type of verbal, physical or action violence against patients. Avoid reacting to violent behavior.
- It is not allowed to air your personal or professional problems with patients, they are there to ask for your support, not the other way around.
Responsibility
The greatest distinguishing feature of a doctor is the responsibility with which he treats each case, in this sense:
- You shouldn’t keep patients waiting. Punctuality is a sign of respect.
- It is not recommended to cancel or reschedule appointments without first notifying your patients.
- Avoid prescribing any type of medication if you are not sure of the effects they could have on the patient.
Professionalism in medical ethics
The relationship between doctor and patient must always be confidential, and maintain a professional distance, therefore:
- You should not expose details of the personal life of patients to family and colleagues.
- Do not use your position to coerce patients into sexual or romantic relationships.
Also read:
This is the code of ethics for pharmacy doctors, do they comply with it?
Here you can download the International Code of Medical Ethics
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