A physician refuses to order pain medication for a drug addict who has been severely injured in a car accident.When reminded by nurses that pain medication has not been ordered,the physician merely replies that the patient's suffering from the pain of his injuries will build character and that the addicted patient needs to get off drugs.Which of the following ethical theories is the physician using (or misusing)?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Virtue ethics emphasizes practical reasoning applied to character development.Although such action by a care provider is paternalistic and unethical on many grounds,the physician may truly be concerned with enabling the injured addict to learn from his experience and possibly develop into a drug-free person.Communitarianism is similar to virtue ethics and looks at the relationship and respoinsibility between the individual and the community.When decisions are based on outcomes or consequences it is known as consequentialism.The ethical approach of deontology describes adhering to moral rules or duty rather than to the consequences of the actions.

A Physician Refuses to Order Pain Medication for a Drug