Ethics and the Surgeon

Wismayer R

Published on: 2023-08-15

Abstract

Surgeons must have a moral compass in their armamentarium which guide their decisions and actions. Surgery is an ethical practice and therefore surgeons should display surgical competence and diligence in their academic and medical activities. Surgeons should be trustworthy from a moral and ethical standpoint and should be skilled in the science and art of surgery. Surgeons must act as ethical models for society, surgeons in training, and fellow colleagues in the place he/she works. A guide used for discussion in surgical ethics should be based on the four-box approach and principalism to clinical ethics. Proximity, surgery-rescue, aftermath, ordeal and presence are five categories of relationships and experience that are important. The purpose of this article is to define surgical ethics and present the main ethical issues which are faced by surgeons and how they deal with these ethical issues.