Medical and Ethical debate – why it is so important?



( Readers to whom I dedicate this to, thank you all for your patience, will update you on weekly schedule soon)

It is interesting studying on a course with fellow healthcare professionals- we all seem to be fighting the same battles, united by our challenges, and desires to do well  in the course- understand the material and pull through to become the great healthcare professionals we aim to be.

Sometimes, it is easy to forget that behind the grades, the numbers, we still remain to be people. We are still very much different in how we perceive life and in essence how despite equal acquisition of knowledge, how we would still act differently when placed in the same situation. 

The reason for this lies in our beliefs. Our core beliefs those that we tenaciously hold onto whatever circumstance we face are those that inform our everyday decisions. These core valued will reflect who we are in our defining moments and therefore are a very significant part of healthcare practice and by extension our lives. 

So what determines them- these core beliefs? Sometimes you might find yourself in an argument, debating something so vehemently, until you lose your momentum. An unexpected loophole and the whole, neatly constructed idea collapses into a pile of rubble. That’s when you might come to the realisation that the belief that you previously held, really had no backing.

It is a dangerous place to be. Without consciously forming beliefs, they begin form by default. Without careful evaluation, accurate research and reliable evidence, heresy directs your core values. As a healthcare professional, as any person in fact, this should never happen. 

Lack of self-analysis, means leaving your fate in the hands of someone else. In the case of health, it means being more susceptible to fear mongering and other poor practices conducted by those aiming to serve a dubious agenda.

As I see it, medical debate can be an invaluable tool in debunking the fallacies surrounding important matters. Practicing a reflective attitude, may even give rise to the analytical thinking necessary to find solutions to the challenges we face in medical healthcare. If that is an overly aggrandised claim, well at least it would serve the imperative role, of preventing us from becoming victims of poorly informed decision-making. 

For the healthcare professionals, forever and always, this echoes the highly prevalent, fast-held initiative to empower the patient. The Realising the value programme building on the NHS Five Year Forward View is just another project recognising the value in patient making their own decision. How better to reach this, than by forming our own concrete arguments, before objectively delivering them, for the patient to make the ultimate decision.

This is a preliminary to what I hope to be a series of brief introductions to various contentious issues, we now face in the world of healthcare.

Till next time.

https://www.england.nhs.uk/2014/11/realising-value/ a

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