This episode provides an overview of the major schools of thought in Western ethics: consequentialism, deontology, virtue ethics, natural law, and moral relativism. We then highlight principlism, a useful approach to medical ethics that breaks down issues into four major principles: respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice.
Moreover, the episode mentions the themes of negligence and reasonable care, which are often discussed in conjunction with beneficence and nonmaleficence. Finally, this episode discusses the ethical principles of allocation of resources.
Episode credits:
Content Development: Harvard Medical Student COVID-19 Curriculum
Narration: Kanchi Mehta
Script Preparation: Kanchi Mehta
Editing: Kanchi Mehta
Modified with Permission from the Harvard Medical Student COVID-19 Curriculum
Original Content Authors: James Agolia, Michelle Bayefsky, Maheetha Bharadwaj, Samuel Doernberg, Melody Huang, Margaret Irwin, Bina Kassamali, Katie Kester, Benjamin Landwersiek, Sun Fletcher, Soumyaa Mazumder, Niyi Odewade, Larisa Shagabayeva, Derek Soled, Sanjana Srinivasan, Maria Thomas, Allen Zhou, Angela Zou
Original Content Editor: Derek Soled, MSc
Original Content Reviewers: Edward Hundert, MD; David S. Jones, MD, PhD; Louise King, MD, JD; Christine Mitchell, RN, MS, MTS, FAAN; Robert D. Truog, MD; David Urion, MD; Matthew Baum, PhD, DPhil; Pamela Chen; Rahul Nayak, MD; Sophia Yin
