7.2  Ethics in practice

In this section you will be able to learn some of the key principles that will help you to think about ethical decisions which you may come across in your work.

The five main principles of ethics are usually considered to be:

• Truthfulness and confidentiality
• Autonomy and informed consent
• Beneficence
• Nonmaleficence
• Justice.

Some of these are difficult words, but in this study session you will be able to consider each of them in turn, using examples that will be familiar to you. This will help you to see how ethical principles are present in almost every aspect of your health work and daily life.