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 and they are: consequentialism (utilitarianism), deontology (nonconsequentialism), and virtue ethics. Generally people tend to sway to one theory over another, but no one solely uses just one theory. When making ethical decisions, usually a combination of theories are used which only helps to strengthen a person and their decision-making ability by providing a “frame of reference that can help an individual make morally appropriate responses to dilemmas faced in a personal and professional life” (Beemster and Chiodo). Therefore, if a clinician has developed a sense of integrity and is faced with the situation of whether or not to treat a patient because the patient won’t put in the time to take care of their teeth on their own, working through the dilemma will be a lot more manageable. Now, in regards to the three theories, there are very distinct difference. Consequentialism is an approach that focuses on “the end result of a particular act” and that the “rightness or wrongness of any action is determined and justified by its consequences” (Beemster and Chiodo). In other words, in an ethical dilemma, a person is to choose the option that will have the most positive outcome or effect where “everyone should be considered” (Beemster and Chiodo). There may be two, perfectly reasonable options to choose from in advancing in a situation, but there will always be an option that will benefit (in this case) the patient more. On the other hand, deontology—also called nonconsequentialism—is more duty based. …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 individual. Lastly, virtue ethics is largely focused on individualist morality. It is