Four pillars of medical ethics

Also known as: Four principles, Beauchamp and Childress

The framework of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice used to reason through ethical dilemmas in UK practice.

Naming and weighing the four pillars gives ethics-station answers structure. Most dilemmas are a tension between respecting autonomy and acting in the patient’s best interests.

More glossary terms

ABCDE approachA systematic method for assessing and treating an acutely unwell patient — Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure — dealing with each before moving on.
AMPLE historyA focused emergency history — Allergies, Medications, Past history, Last meal, Events — taken quickly in acute situations.
ARCPThe annual assessment that decides whether a doctor in training has met the competencies to progress to the next stage.
AVPU scaleA rapid way to grade consciousness — Alert, responds to Voice, responds to Pain, Unresponsive — used in initial assessment.

Put it into practice

Rehearse PLAB 2 stations with AI simulated patients and get structured feedback after every consultation.

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