Foundations of Healthcare Ethics Theory to Practice

In order to provide the highest level of care to patients and clients, health professionals need a sound knowledge and understanding of healthcare ethics. Foundations of Healthcare Ethics: Theory to Practice focuses on the philosophical concepts underpinning contemporary ethical discourse for health professionals, and arms both students and professionals with the knowledge to tackle situations of moral uncertainty in clinical practice. Specially written to provide an in-depth study into the theoretical foundations of healthcare ethics, it covers a range of normative ethical theories, from virtue ethics to utilitarianism, while also investigating their application to contemporary issues in health care and society. It provides opportunities for self-directed learning, and presents questions and case studies to facilitate engagement and discussion. Foundations of Healthcare Ethics provides both students and professionals with an understanding of the philosophy governing healthcare ethics in order to help provide a better level of care to patients and clients.

1. Why study healthcare ethics? Patrick McArdle and Jo Grainger; 2. Ethical theories John Ozolins; 3. Ethical principalism John Ozolins; 4. Personhood and human dignity David G. Kirchhoffer; 5. Empathy and care John Ozolins; 6. Health care and virtue John Ozolins; 7. Rationality in utilitarian thought John Ozolins; 8. Natural law and the sanctity of human life John Ozolins; 9. Obligations, duties and rights John Ozolins; 10. A historical analysis of feminism and an application to contemporary healthcare ethics Jo Grainger; 11. Conscience and health professionals Brigid McKenna; 12. The discourse of human rights at the beginning of and end of life Frank Brennan; 13. When does human life begin? A theological, philosophical and scientific analysis Norman Ford and Jo Grainger; 14. Autonomy and consent John Ozolins; 15. The 'dead donor rule' and organ donation Brigid McKenna; 16. Just care at the end of life Bernadette Tobin.

Professor Jãnis T. Ozoliņš is currently Professor in Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University. He has taught and published widely in the areas of Ethics and Philosophy, both in Australia and overseas.
Joanne Grainger is a registered nurse, healthcare ethicist and post-graduate course coordinator for the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine at the Australian Catholic University (ACU). Currently completing a Doctor of Education at Melbourne University, Joanne also lectures in the area of sports ethics for the Masters of High Performance Sport course at ACU. In 2010, Joanne was awarded the prestigious Edmund Pellegrino Fellowship in Bioethics from Georgetown University in Washington DC, the first registered nurse and Australian to receive this award. Also in 2010, Joanne received the Mary Philippa Brazill Foundation national grant for the development of online healthcare ethics education units specifically for post-graduate nurses and midwives across Australia. In 2012, Joanne was conferred the Australian Catholic University Excellence in Teaching award for her leadership in healthcare ethics education at the university and in the public sphere. She has interests in the scholarship areas of military ethics, simulation education pedagogy, and research ethics, and is passionate about the academic work and life of Pope John Paul II.