Ethics

Overview

In the 1890s, the Sisters of Providence established the first health care facilities in Vancouver. From the start, ethical reflection has been a cornerstone of who we are and what we do.

Providence Health Care’s commitment to ethical care is fundamental and universal. It is grounded in the moral teaching and traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. Our facilities offer leading edge medical care with a strong focus on compassion and social justice. We do this by paying careful attention to how we interact with one another and the people that we serve.

What is ethics?

Ethics is the philosophical discipline that examines right and wrong action. In ethics, we examine who we ought to be, how we should behave, and how we make decisions in light of who we say we are. At PHC, we believe that ethics touches everyone and everything. Ethics Services seeks to bring the best of our wisdom and lived experience to our work. We do this by placing ethical reflection and discussion at the centre of all our activities.

In a health-care setting, ethics comes into play in different ways. A few examples:

How best to respond to a medical emergency
Making difficult treatment decisions in clinical or long-term care
Managing disagreements between care providers, patients, residents, or families
Allocating scarce resources fairly

Ethics services

Our Ethics Services team members are a resource to bring an ethical lens to all our activities. We support patients, families and health-care professionals and offer the following services:

Clinical ethics consultation
Ethics-based policy review
Ethics education and outreach
Ethics support for the wider health-care community
Support in responding to inquiries about medical assistance in dying
Support for the Research Ethics Board

Ethics & research

The PHC Ethics Services team is committed to research and academic endeavours. We publish the results of our research in academic peer-reviewed journals. The Ethics Team also plays an important role in ensuring that other research projects are conducted in an ethical manner.

Gibson JA, Boerstler J, Chase J, Smith C (2022). "Withdrawing life-sustaining treatments v. euthanasia. The ethical difference. Nursing, 52(7), 59-61. 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000832380.26717.3d

Gibson JA. (2022). “No insulin.” What is an ethical response when the clinical team disagrees with the patient’s preferences?" Nursing, 52(1), 60-62. doi: 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000803508.89915.55

Gibson JA. (2021). “Please try ventilation.” Ethical considerations when clinical teams and families disagree on life-saving intervention. Nursing, 51(11), 22-24.

Gibson JA. (2021). Ethical considerations when patients initiate their own discharge. Nursing, 51(9), 12-14. doi: 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000769860.87812.dc

Connaughton C. & Boerstler J. (2021). Harm Reduction for Intravenous Substance Use: A Moral Analysis of Common Strategies. National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, 21(1), 69-84. doi:10.5840/ncbq20212118

Chase J. (2020). Caring for frail older adults during COVID‐19: Integrating public health ethics into clinical practice. J Am Geriatr Soc, 68: 1666-1670. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.16666

Chase J. (2020). The Ethics of Compulsory Treatment of Addictions Under Canadian Legislation: Restricting Freedom to Promote Long-Term Autonomy?, The Canadian Journal of Addiction, 11(1): 6-13. doi: 10.1097/CXA.0000000000000074

Chase J. (2018). Healing Generational Trauma in Aboriginal Canadians. Voices in Bioethics, Columbia University, New York 4 (September). https://doi.org/10.7916/vib.v4i.6015.

Boerstler JJ. (2018). Repeat Valve Replacement in Substance-Addicted Patients. The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, 18(4): 619-626. doi:10.5840/ncbq201818466

Young JM, Everett B. (2018). When patients choose to live at risk: What is an ethical approach to intervention. BC Medical Journal. 60(6): 314-318

Gibson JA. & Crowe S. (2018). Frailty in Critical Care: Examining Implications for Clinical Practices. Critical Care Nurse 38 (3): 29-35

Benjaminy S, Young JM, Tham J, Unger D, Virani A. (2017). When the neurologist does (or does not) have the duty to disclose neurogenetic risk. Neurology Today. 17(21):16-17

Ho A, Jameson K, Eiser A. (2017). Sowing the SEED for Patient Empowerment. Am. J. Bioeth. 17(11): 42-45.

Ho A. Reconciling Patient Safety and Epistemic Humility: An Ethical Use of Opioid Treatment Plans. Hastings Center Report. 2017; 47(3), 34-35.

Buchman D, Ho A, Goldberg D. Investigating Trust, Expertise, and Epistemic Injustice in Chronic Pain. J Bioeth Inq. 2017. doi:10.1007/s11673-016-9761-x.

Taylor D, Ho A, Masse L, Van Borek N, Li N, Patterson M, Ogilvie G, Buxton J., Assessment of Capacity to Consent for Health Care Among Patients Who Misuse Drugs or Alcohol. Global Qualitative Nursing Research. 2016; 3: 1-9. DOI: 10.1177/2333393616671076

Young, JM & Unger, D (2016) Covert administration of medication to persons with dementia: exploring the ethical dimensions. Journal of Clinical Ethics, 27:4, 290-7

Ho A, Taylor K, Pavlish C. An Exploratory Study of Interprofessional Collaboration in End-of-Life Decision-Making beyond Palliative Care Settings. J. Interprof. Care. DOI: 10.1080/13561820.2016.1203765.

Ho A, Tsai DFC. Making Good Death More Accessible: End-Of-Life Care in the Intensive Care Unit. Intensive Care Med. 2016. DOI 10.1007/s00134-016-4396-2.

Buchman D, Ho A, Illes J. “You Present Like a Drug Addict”: Patient and Clinician Perspectives on Trust and Trustworthiness in Chronic Pain Management." Pain Medicine. 2016. DOI: 10.1093/pm/pnv083

Ho A, Spencer M, McGuire M. When Frail Individuals or Their Families Request Non-Indicated Interventions: The 4-Box Ethical Approach. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2015;63(8):1674-8; DOI:10.1111/jgs.13531

Ho A, MacDonald L, Unger D. Preventive Ethics through Expanding Education. HEC Forum. 2015. DOI: 10.1007/s10730-015-9273-9

Ho A, Unger D. Power Hierarchy and Epistemic Injustice in Clinical Ethics Consultation. Am. J. Bioeth. 2015;15(1):40-2.

Ho A, Fussell L, Unger D. (2015) Preventive Ethics through Expanding Education, HealthCare Ethics Committee Forum DOI: 10.1007/s10730-015-9273-9

Ho A, Spencer M, McGuire M. When Frail Individuals or Their Families Request Nonindicated Interventions: Usefulness of the Four-Box Ethical Approach. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2015;63(8):1674-8; DOI:10.1111/jgs.13531

Ho A, Unger D. Power Hierarchy and Epistemic Injustice in Clinical Ethics Consultation. Am. J. Bioeth. 2015;15(1):40-2.

Young, JM. & Everett, B. (December 2015) Cause of death: Schizophrenia? British Columbia Medical Journal 57(10):434-437.

Buchman D, Ho A. What’s Trust Got to Do with It? Revisiting Opioid Contracts. J. Med. Ethics. 2013. DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2013-101320

Overview Copy link to this section

In the 1890s, the Sisters of Providence established the first health care facilities in Vancouver. From the start, ethical reflection has been a cornerstone of who we are and what we do.

What is ethics? Copy link to this section

Ethics services Copy link to this section

Ethics & research Copy link to this section

Related resources Copy link to this section

Overview

What is ethics?

Ethics services

Ethics & research

Related resources