Abstract
One might say that ethical issues in medicine come down to questions of decision-making that arise from conflicts between differing value systems in clinical settings. The purpose of learning about medical ethics is to obtain the "tools" -the concepts and frameworks of thinking- to employ when considering these questions. If these tools allow us to verbalize and organize the issues faced, and share and discuss problems and ideas among the medical team, it could be possible to identify the best option available. This paper focuses on the background of biomedical ethics, ranging from the Hippocratic Oath of ancient Greece to contemporary "bioethics" and "medical ethics," and the "Four Principles" (of respect for autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice), which represent one "tool," which we will critically analyze in view of actual cases. Learning about the basics of bioethics does not change the fact that decisionmaking is difficult when relationships between practitioners are emotionally strained and urgency is important. The key is not to avoid the difficulty of decision-making, but rather to learn and utilize the tools necessary to experience distress along with the patient and family members, while always searching out the better option.