The hospital is forming an ethics committee. Which concept should be central to that committee's function?
A) Most of the committee's work should involve short-term ethical issues.
B) The overriding concern of the committee should be protection of the hospital.
C) Members should be limited to medical staff.
D) The committee should act to provide guidelines for potential problems.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Rationale 1: Ethical dilemmas can be both short-term and long-term. There is no restriction on ethics committees to focus primarily on short-term issues.
Rationale 2: Protection of the hospital should not be the ethics committee's primary concern. This committee is concerned about the provision of ethical care to the patient.
Rationale 3: Ethics committees should be broad based, including members from a variety of professions and services.
Rationale 4: Ethics committees can (1) provide structure and guidelines for potential problems, (2) serve as an open forum for discussion, and (3) function as a true patient advocate by placing the patient at the core of the committee discussions.

The Hospital Is Forming an Ethics Committee