Foundation Of Integrity Essay

Life is difficult. It holds many moments of uncertainty instead of clarity. The field of dental hygiene is no exception to life’s uncertainty. There will be times when you have to figure out if you can actually treat a patient of not, or if you can treat the patient, what course of action will you take to treat them. Is it better to pull the tooth, or is it better to do a root canal? However, knowing that life puts you in complicated situations on a regular basis can help you to prepare. In the article “The Foundation of Integrity” by Phylis L. Beemsterboer and Gary Chiodo, pointers are given to help a clinician work through situations. To Beemsterboer and Chiodo, integrity is one of the most important characteristics to have. To have integrity is to have “an ethical stance that causes individuals to adhere to their own values” ( Beemster and Chiodo). If you have integrity, then you have a decent bearing on what you believe to be right or wrong ethically, which can help you to work through tough situations. Furthermore, Beemsterboer and Chiodo help to explain the different ethical theories that are involved with integrity. There are three of these theories …show more content…
The option you choose to take in an ethical dilemma is chosen “by the rightness or wrongness of the action, regardless of the consequences of the action” (Beemster and Chiodo). To clarify the difference between deontology and consequentialism, deontology separates moral standards from the circumstances. Deontology doesn’t stop to consider the consequences of the action because duty is what you base your decision on. For example, if someone has severe high blood pressure, you won’t treat them because it is your duty to refer them to their physician, where as in consequentialism you would refer them because that is what is best for the patient. Deontology thinks about the process and consequentialism thinks about the