Ei dian otsikkoa

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VALUES AND THE WORK OF THE FINNISH MEDICAL
ASSOCIATION
June 2003
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• THE PHYSICIANS BASIC VALUES
• Respect for life
• Humanity
• Ethics
• Medical expertise
• Collegiality

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THE PHYSICIANS BASIC VALUES The Finnish Medical
Association unites doctors as a professional
community, and develops and supports the values
common to the profession. These values have a
historical, internationally accepted base. The
physicians basic values are also the basic
values of the Finnish Medical Association.
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RESPECT FOR LIFE The World Medical Association
(WMA), founded after World War II, rewrote the
Hippocratic Oath and asked all doctors to take
it. As a result of the lessons of the war, a
strong injunction to respect life was added to
the oath. The rewritten oath is known as the
Declaration of Geneva of 1948.
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HUMANITY
Humanity includes humaneness, human dignity and
human rights. The inhumane treatment suffered by
soldiers at the Battle of Solferino in 1859
inspired the founder of the Red Cross, Henri
Dunant, to take initiatives on behalf of
humanity. These led to the Geneva Convention of
1864, which guaranteed the right of doctors to
care for all of the wounded in war impartially
and without interference. The concept of
humanity has also been taken up in the
international law that defines crimes against
humanity. The Finnish Physicians Oath adopted
by the Finnish Medical Association in 1996 begins
with the words I swear, on my honour and
conscience, that as a physician I shall strive
to serve my fellow man and to respect humanity."
And it closes with the words I shall not,
even under threat, use my skills against my
professional ethics.
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ETHICS Since ancient times, the work of
physicians has been grounded in firm moral
values governing their actions medical ethics.
Medicine is based on an ethical attitude.
Patients are aware of the doctors obligation to
protect human life and relieve suffering. The
physician tries to act ethically in a broader
sense than simply observing written ethical
guidelines.
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MEDICAL EXPERTISE Medical ethics compel every
doctor to maintain a high level of professional
skill and to assess the quality of his own work.
University training gives doctors good basic
preparation, but the rapid advance of medicine
requires continuing professional development
throughout ones career. This requirement also
affects society and the physicians employer, who
must guarantee the doctor the opportunity to
continuously maintain his or her professional
skill.
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COLLEGIALITY Medical work is collaborative by
its nature. Professional development is based on
the sharing of experiences and knowledge between
colleagues. The obligation to help ones
professional colleagues and behave collegially
was always part of the Hippocratic Oath. The
Finnish Physicians Oath requires doctors to
respect their colleagues and give them help
whenever they need it in treating a patient. The
Finnish Medical Association also has a special
code of medical collegiality.
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THE WORK OF THE FINNISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

• Advancing the medical profession
• Uniting doctors as a professional community
• Safeguarding doctorsinterests
• Promoting health and the best interests of
  the patient
• Defending humanity and ethical values in
  Finland and internationally

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ADVANCING THE MEDICAL PROFESSION A profession is
a calling whose practitioners combine a
demanding scientific education with a firm base
of moral values. It is important that society
values doctorscommitment to ethics and assures
them the right to practice their profession
independently. In Finland, only physicians have
the right to make a diagnosis and prescribe care,
admit patients to the hospital and release them.
Doctors are responsible for their work not only
to patients but also to society. A profession is
more than a professional community. Advancing the
profession means the Finnish Medical Association
must safeguard the professional development
opportunities for doctors and stand up for the
professions needs and values.
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UNITING DOCTORS AS A PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY The
Finnish Medical Association unites doctors
working in different economic sectors,
specialities, and scientific organisations. Thus
the association is able to work vigorously on
issues important to all doctors.
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SAFEGUARDING DOCTORSINTERESTS From its
founding, an important task of the Finnish
Medical Association has been safeguarding
doctors interests. Doctors can more effectively
protect their interests, improve their working
conditions, organise professional training, and
affect public policy if they work together and
as a collective organisation. The challenges of
protecting their interests have increased and the
tasks have become more complex as health care
legislation and safeguarding of interests are
internationalised.
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PROMOTING HEALTH AND THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE
PATIENT According to the Finnish Physicians
Oath, the main goal of physicians is to maintain
and promote health, prevent and cure sickness,
and relieve suffering. The encounter between
doctor and patient is the central event in
health care. The doctor is an expert working for
the good of the patient, and his or her work
includes developing health services for the good
of the patient. The Finnish Medical Association
works actively to see that health care is taken
into account in all the decisions made in
society. The association is an expert on human
health and health care, and a strong and
influential voice in health policy.
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DEFENDING HUMANITY AND ETHICAL VALUESIN FINLAND
AND INTERNATIONALLY The immunity and special
rights given to doctors in the Geneva Convention
of 1864 come with obligations for the
professional community. Doctors work in national
and international organisations, and in war and
crisis zones. Everywhere they work, they are
expected to defend humanity and to relieve
humanitarian emergencies, without
discrimination, according to their ethics. The
work of the Finnish Medical Association is to
safeguard the internationally recognised special
position of doctors and to develop and make
known the ethical basis that guides medical
work.
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• QUALITIES OF THE WORK OF THE FINNISH MEDICAL
  ASSOCIATION
• The work done in the name of Finnish Medical
  Association is marked by the following qualities
• Medical expertise
• Justice
• Spirit of service
• Tolerance
• Sense of responsibility
• Unity
• International outlook