Journalists want virtuous physicians?: An analysis by the model of Ethic of Virtues, in reference to Beneficence, according to Pellegrino and Thomasma

Paulo Fortes,Concília Ortona

doi:10.4067/s1726-569x2015000100014

Abstract

A search of notes written by Brazilian journalists specialized in Health, representatives of major newspapers and magazines in the country, indicate that the main factor of Humanization of health care is the existence of virtuous physicians. They are capable of providing welfare and put patients’ interests above their own. Therefore, health care based on Beneficence of patients. This draws attention, because it is a country where, in the field of bioethics, the model of Virtues, in the way it is taught by Edmund Pellegrino and David Thomasma, has been little studied. This also shows that autonomous attitudes of patients are poorly valued by respondents, but this may not mean yearning for paternalistic attitudes, but a benevolent attitude, recognizing the vulnerable condition in people who are sick.

Highlights

Amid the process of valorization of the technical-scientific Medicine, broad social professional categories, such as journalists, wants virtuous physicians and health care based on the patient’s Beneficence, above all other interests and values, as provided by Ethic of Virtues crafted by the physician Edmund Pellegrino and the philosopher David Thomasma
Such statements are derived from responses obtained in a study on “Humanization of Health Care”(1), made with journalists working in the field of Health in São Paulo, the most populous city Brazil[2] and most influential in the global scenario in the country
In the context of ethics, value the Beneficence, especially in relationships between health professionals and patients, as the authors believe that the models of autonomy and paternalism have more limitations and shortcomings of the Beneficence(6)

Summary

Introduction

Amid the process of valorization of the technical-scientific Medicine, broad social professional categories, such as journalists, wants virtuous physicians and health care based on the patient’s Beneficence, above all other interests and values (including the own autonomy of the patient), as provided by Ethic of Virtues crafted by the physician Edmund Pellegrino and the philosopher David Thomasma. In the context of ethics, value the Beneficence (act for the good), especially in relationships between health professionals and patients, as the authors believe that the models of autonomy and paternalism have more limitations and shortcomings of the Beneficence(6) They consider the concepts of “Benevolence” (or “Beneficence”) and what is it is “a virtuous professional” are often linked, because the former is a primary requisite to the second. A physician guided by Beneficence, is one that, somehow, is able to meet the expectations of their patients(13), since the “promise to save the patient raises in him or her the hope that the professional has the competence and expertise necessary for his or her case.”

Method

Conclusions