Virtue, progress and practice

Virtue in Medical Practice: An Exploratory Study

Virtue ethics has long provided fruitful resources for the study of issues in medical ethics. In particular, study of the moral virtues of the good doctor-like kindness, fairness and good judgement-have provided insights into the nature of medical professionalism and the ethical demands on the medical practitioner as a moral person. Today, a substantial literature exists exploring the virtues i...

Progress and Practice

Talking Virtue: professionalism and virtue ethics

The twentieth century phenomenon of professionalism had a major impact on the economy of nation states and has been recognised as a key element of post-industrial societies. As an anointed class, professionals reserved the right to prescribe their own roles and responsibilities. Critics of professional interests, however, have described professionals’ own definition of their roles and responsib...

Courage as a virtue necessary to good nursing practice.

C ourage is a virtue that is necessary to the conscientious practice of all healthcare providers. This is neither a new nor an original idea. Others have written about the importance of virtues in medicine or have focused on courage in particular as a willingness to adhere to the obligations inherent in professional practice. In the current healthcare climate, it is not a simple thing to know a...

Waving not drowning: virtue ethics in general practice.

of Monty Python. At a more modest level I remember listening to the Beatles' first hit, Love Me Do, blasting out from my elder brother's bedroom on a Sunday afternoon in 1962. Little did I realise that the brown austerity of the 1950s was passing and that the 60s had arrived! Part of the culture Changes in the medical world don't happen in a vacuum. They happen within specific societies and wit...