Ethics of responsibility in psychiatric care

Abstract

Responsibility is often defined in terms of accountability for actions based on ethical and legal norms. However, the concept is multidimensional and is relevant to many disparate disciplines. The concepts of responsibility and responsibility ethics are central to the context of disease/healthcare and the delivery psychiatric care services. The vulnerability of the patient as well as legal and institutional factors contribute to a variety of potential ethical dilemmas for caregivers. A thorough understanding the concept of responsibility and its ethical dimensions is very important to providing psychiatric care of high quality that protects patients and healthcare providers. This review examines the definition, application, and effects of the concept of responsibility and the ethics of responsibility in the practice of psychiatric nurses.