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Can Physicians' Actions Like Strike And Work Slow-down Be Ethically Justified ?
Dr.Selim ALTANa
aTıp Tarihi ve Etik AD, Celal Bayar Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, MANİSA
Objective: Our country, with the leadership of doctors, occasionally witnesses protesting, slowing the job down and strike of the health offcials. The most recently was on 10 ? 11 March 2004, on which days all the doctors went on strike in every part of the country by the support of Health Worker's Union and some other civilian society foundations which are leaded by Turkish Medical Association. By this way it is tried to express the problems in our heath system.This kind of actions which are made to put forth the problems in our health system for consideration and solution are understood in a different way by the doctors, patients and their relatives, society and management. On account of this, naturally it is necessary to bring up the thesis of the health organisations we listed above one by one with rights, responsibilities and faults while the problems and solutions which are faced in the work of the health mechanism are researched in an ethical way. But that subject goes beyond the limits of this article and makes it necessary to take them up as serial. We tried to establish the position of the doctors on this problem, especially with the bones of their manners for the solution.Material and Methods: Unfortunately, there hasn't been a comprehensive research which brings up the effect of doctor's strikes on the patients. In addition to this , there isn't enough datum in foreing literature. This shouldn't cause instability. What would a patient expect from the doctors and how it would effect physically and phycologically on the patient when his/her expectations are broken down by the actions like strikes aren't unfamiliar to doctors.The point is having them arranged. Results: A research of Ankara Medical Association, shows the doctors opinions about the problems of the health system in a detail way. In addition to this, the leaders of the Turkish Medical Association and other health foundations made statements about the right side of doctor's reactions.The researchs which were made by Civaner and his collagues has showed on which subjects doctors are accused to be guilty and are subjected to complaints. The relationship between the regretion of doctor's salaries in years and the quality of the care of the patients. Below these situations it is clear that reactions of the doctors don't cover up with the applications. Discussion and Conclusion: In addition to the fact that doctor's reactions don't cover up with their explanations, the strikes break the principles of Medical Ethics. Despite the claim that patients aren't disturbed by those actions, the infringement of the principles of "nonmaleficence, beneficencel, justice and respect for autonomy" have caused patients harm.Keywords: Strikes, Work slow-down, Physician actionsTurkiye Klinikleri J Med Ethics 2004, 12:201-206
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