Relational Ethics

The Full Meaning of Respect

Vangie Bergum and John Dossetor

2005. 256 pages. ISBN 1-55572-060-9.

$24.95 plus $4.75 S&H. Please ask about instructors' discounts.

“The conduct of right and good relationships between human beings must ultimately concern every authentic ethical theory.

Bergum and Dossetor offer an insightful analysis of the moral status of relationships that should interest professional and general readers alike.”
—Edmund D. Pellegrino, MD

Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Medical Ethics at Georgetown University Medical Center

What are the basic principles of an ethical relationship? And what does this mean for healthcare?
 

According to Bergum and Dossetor, healthcare ethics is grounded in relationship: relationships between careproviders and patients, between patients and their families, between theorists and practitioners, and even between the advocates of competing positions and systems. Although the context of these relationships is varied, they are nurtured and sustained by their reliance on dialogue and mutual concern. It is the relationship itself that supports and informs ethical reflection and decision making.
 

The authors examine why some kinds of relationships in healthcare are better than others, and they outline the basic tenets of an ethical relationship. “As a practice ethic, relational ethics looks at the way people are with one another in various roles: as healthcare practitioner, patient, team member, teacher, parent, student, friend, and neighbor. Such a focus attends to both who one is, as well as what one is or does, as we live ethical action, moment by moment.”
 

Drawing on experiences from daily practice, current literature, and insights gained from the Relational Ethics Research Program, the authors invite readers to reflect on the many ways that relationships influence ethical actions—and outcomes—and how they can be improved.

Vangie Bergum, PhD, is a Professor in the John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre and the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Alberta.
John Dossetor, MD, PhD, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Alberta.

Contents
 

Foreword by Solomon R. Benatar
Introduction
1. Ethical Relations in Healthcare
2. Situating Relational Ethics in Ethical Theory
3. Mutual Respect
4. Relational Engagement
5. Bringing Knowledge Back to Life
6. Creating Environment
7. Living Questions