Chapter 7 Ethical and Moral Medical Practices

Medical practitioners, physicians, nurses have extremely difficult tasks in determining the course of action in determining the diseases and their respective treatments. At no circumstance a doctor or nurse decide to kill a patient due to the severity of patients or any other racially motivated issues or stigmas. Also, medical practitioners cannot give up and let the patient suicide to end her/his life because of any shortcomings and insurance policies. This is where our baseline ethical and moral fine line has to be drawn to distinguish between righteous and wrongdoers. An ailing patient in a death bed is helpless and what else she/he can do rather than trusting a doctor. A morally corrupt person cannot be given a task to be a medical practitioner simply her/his inability to distinguish between right and wrong. Some times medical practitioners and patients value system could be in direct conflict. In the most of the Abrahamic religions no person is allowed to commit suicide. Therefore it is not right to impose a death sentence to kill an ailing patient without letting her/him know her/his wish or conviction. It is absolutely unethical by medical practitioners to withheld or end treatment because of insurance and hospital financial budget. It is extremely unethical for medical practitioners administering overdose morphine to an extremely ailing patient with the intention to kill that patient. Medical practitioners must follow some professional ethics, values and principles. A patient must have the right to decide her/his own method of treatment and medicine. There is no way a doctor can harm or kill a patient. Medical practitioners must be transparent to patients and should have due respect for patient’s value system and religion. A doctor cannot be simply bookish without wisdom and skills to make critical decision. In many medical circumstances medical disputes happen relying on half truths and not sharing all the facts and figures with the patients. Ethical rules without having the moral conscience to distinguish between right and wrong is unacceptable. Our health care became a huge business without having strong outlines of facing the ethical decisions and challenges. Medical ethics are the baseline moral values that are linked with the conscience and also has practical implications and applications. A doctor must maintain a clear conscience to make money or treat a patient for money. A physician must be well informed about their role to take logical decision on a patient. Patients have trust on their doctors, but once that trust has been breached, it is difficult to regain. Irrespective of insurance and hospital all patients have to be treated alike regarding critical healthcare decisions. Without patient’s consent to apply a drug that leads to death is clearly a violation of medical ethics and is considered to be a medical malpractice. Physicians must be accountable who are involved in this process of medical malpractice. In addition to requiring a passing of a theoretical examination, medical boards also determine whether physicians have met recognized standards of professional conduct while in practice. Medical practice act defines unprofessional conduct that include:

• physical abuse of a patient,
• inadequate record keeping,
• not recognizing or acting on common symptoms,
• prescribing drugs in excessive amounts without legitimate reason,
• impaired ability to practice due to addiction,
• failing to meet continuing medical education requirements,
• performing duties beyond the scope of a license,
• dishonesty,
• conviction of a felony,
• inappropriately delegating the practice of medicine to an unlicensed individual.

The baseline of morality and moral values are same irrespective of our professions and religions. We all belong to the same human kingdom no matter what we do for our living and business. Fundamental moral values that are outlined as gospels in the religious holy books Al-Qur’an and Bible are same. All religions taught us to stick with some basic truths of life irrespective of our rituals of religions. Rituals of religions are for personal and social discipline that could be modified by the group of people for their own benefits and gain. But the basic moral baselines of all religions are remain universal and same. The messages of gospels clearly outlined that moral rules are for humanity and human kind that are universal irrespective of where and how we practice.The baseline values and truths will remain with us for our guidance up to the end of human kingdom on Earth. There is no distinctions between medical ethics and religious morality. Morality and moral values apply to humans and even to animals irrespective of what we practice. Our conventional set of believes have some misunderstanding. All value systems start with initial beliefs of anything whether scientific or religious lessons. Once someone has initial belief on something then the next steps are to further strengthen that belief by going through the next logical steps of gaining full knowledge on that subject and finally gets perfected through knowledge of visualization or in other words “seeing is believing”. As an example no mathematical formulation or law of physics can be confined to abstraction for their usefulness until it gets perfected through engineering visualization. A machine or a building in CAD designing are of any no use without their full functionalities in manufacturing or utilities. So, there is absolutely no contradiction between the religious morality and medical morality. There is no compulsion in any religions to practice certain rituals to be religious. The rule of thumb for sticking with the moral and ethical values are based on the “Golden Rule of Ethics”. Any medical practice must be understood in terms of two sided moral and ethical understanding. What is not acceptable to my own life cannot be applied to others. All religious moral and ethical rules are based on facts and logic but unfortunately a very few of us can comprehend that realities and truths. Historically the truths of religions have been distorted and fabricated as an imperial tools to silence the rights to speak and claim someones rights and share. There is modification of moral and ethical values in medical practices due to our inability to find solutions for any diseases or medical treatment. Our tasks as humans are to fight through our killers whether natural or man made remaining within moral and ethical boundaries of life. At no circumstances we must not give up and let the patient die and it is totally morally and ethically unacceptable to any professions including medical practices. A patient cannot choose to suicide because of the shortcomings of any kind including “health insurance”. Medical practitioners- doctors,and nurses have great responsibility to play in treating patients especially for the ailing patients or patients with almost no say. Medical profession is an extremely difficult but honorable and noble. Medical practitioners must have deep understanding and practice of the baseline moral and ethical codes of life while they must have required skills and knowledge on the subject. Under no circumstances medical malpractice or violation of moral and ethical code of conducts can be acceptable. All religions are pragmatic and are evolved naturally as safeguard in against of any social or judicial discrimination and injustice. So, mankind in general must be aware about their own domain and boundary. To me as a physicist, the whole universe after the “Big Bang” is being driven with a definite wish and rule keeping the sun and the moon in their own orbits. All heavenly bodies are forced to stay in their own course in space and showing their allegiance to the wish of the super mind or creator. We are also within the constraints and are not able to transgress the boundaries and the balance of the creations. Our mission as humans to establish justice for us and for other creations including the safeguard of nature on Earth. Humans have opportunity to enjoy two worlds one is the material Earth with all kinds of blessings and the other one is the consequence of life with an ever ending manifestation of love.