The Moral, Ethical, Personal, and Professional Challenges Faced by Physicians during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Krzysztof Goniewicz, Mariusz Goniewicz, Anna Włoszczak-Szubzda, Dorota Lasota, Frederick M. Burkle, Marta Borowska-Stefańska, Szymon Wiśniewski and Amir Khorram-Manesh
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Krzysztof Goniewicz: Department of Security, Polish Air Force University, 08-521 Dęblin, Poland
Mariusz Goniewicz: Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, 20-093 Lublin, Poland
Anna Włoszczak-Szubzda: Faculty of Human Sciences, University of Economics and Innovation, 20-209 Lublin, Poland
Dorota Lasota: Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Warsaw, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
Frederick M. Burkle: Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
Marta Borowska-Stefańska: Institute of the Built Environment and Spatial Policy, University of Lodz, 90-142 Łódź, Poland
Szymon Wiśniewski: Institute of the Built Environment and Spatial Policy, University of Lodz, 90-142 Łódź, Poland
Amir Khorram-Manesh: Department of Surgery, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, 41345 Gothenburg, Sweden

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-13

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic, apart from the main problems concerning the health and life of patients, sparked a discussion about physicians’ moral and social professional attitudes. During a pandemic, physicians have the same ethical, moral, and medical responsibilities, however, the situation is different since they are self-exposed to a danger, which may influence their willingness to work. The problem of the professional moral attitudes of health care workers, recurring in ethical discussions, prompts us to define the limits of the duties of physicians in the event of a pandemic, hence this research aimed to assess these duties from an ethical perspective and to define their boundaries and scope. The study was conducted in May and June 2020 in the city of Lublin, covering all medical centers, and the questionnaire was completed by 549 physicians. The research was conducted in four areas: emergency standby in the event of a disaster, even if it is not requested; willingness to work overtime in the event of a disaster, even without payment; willingness to take health risks by caring for people who are infectious or exposed to hazardous substances; readiness to be transferred to other departments in the event of a disaster. Although most of the respondents declared to be agreed on personal sacrifices in the performance of professional duties, they were not prepared for a high level of personal risk when working in a pandemic. Excessive workload, its overwhelming nature, and personal risk are not conducive to readiness to work overtime, especially without pay. Research shows how important it is to respect the rights and interests of all parties involved in a pandemic. Physicians’ duty to care for a patient is also conditioned by the duty to protect themselves and should not be a tool for intimidating and depersonalizing their social and professional lives.

Keywords: COVID-19; physician; professional attitude; ethics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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