Jenda's Accepted Class on Ethics

A forum to leave your non-sensitive roleplay logs, stories and other roleplay contributions that deal with Tar Valon affairs.
Jenda
Posts: 358
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2017 9:33 pm

Jenda's Accepted Class on Ethics

Post by Jenda » Fri Oct 22, 2021 4:29 pm

An old class I taught as an Accepted who knows how long ago


Sitters of the Hall,

I have gone over my class on the Ethics of Healing again, and edited the content and tone. I submit for approval an outline of my class. With this lecture I intend to instill in my students an understanding of Healing Ethics of the most common school. Keeping ethical behavior within the Laws of the Tower and the Three oaths is necessary to keep the trust and faith the world has in Healers of the Tower.

I will interduce, breifly, the point of these ethics and emphasize the trinity of the human being; mind body and spirit, and also the notion of freewill, and responsibility of the Healer.

This will lead into the body of my lecture, the points of common Healing Ethics:


1.Benificence - the best interest of the patient.
1a. Negligence and Incompetence
1b. Empathy - Anticipating the emotions of the patient, and putting yourself in their shoes.

2.non-Maleficence - Above all, do no harm.
2a. Euthenasia and coersion

3.Autonomy - the right to refuse or choose treatment.

4.Justice - Fairness and equality in treatment.

5.Dignity - Both the patient and the Healer have the right to dignity.

6.Truthfullness - Informed consent.

7.Rights of the Healer - The Healer has the right to refuse a patient.

8.Integration of Ethics and Tower Law - Healing Ethically and Obeying Tower Law.
8a.Tower Wanteds and international disputes.
8b.the Three Oaths

Conclusion. - Where I will recap, answer questions, and end my lecture.

In each segment, I intend to give various relevant scenarios for more in depth explaination, and question students on the understanding of each. The whole class should take less then two hours, including discussion.

- Accepted Jenda Sharaad

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

the Ethics of Healing

Healing, in any sense of the word, whether with herbs and lore, or the Talent we call Healing applied with weaves of the One Power, is a great gift.

The ability and the inclination to help your fellow man be healthy, live long, and live a meaningful life is the most admirable of professions.

The body mind and soul work together in symphonic harmony. When one has been broken, the rest invariabley fail.

Healing is not only the restoration of injuries and malfuntions in the body. The whole must be considered.

A Patient's mind is a powerful aid to your healing. Or a powerful foil. A patient who is uncooperative, distressed, or unwilling will not respond well to your aid. And may even hinder you, or make matters worse.

A Patient's will is most important. The will to live and survive can often pull the body from the cliff of death on its own with no nursing from a Healer.

A Patient's soul, what makes him a man and not an animal, must be sheltered and cradled while Healing. Remember that you are dealing with a person. And let the gravity of this sink in...

Because along with Healing being a great gift, it comes with a heavy burden of responsiblity.

There are several points to the Ethics of Healing. And all are like spokes on a wheel. The hub being the health and wholistic well being of the Patient.

There are several different schools of Healing Ethics, I will be lecturing on one that is historicly the most common, and I think, the most wholistic.

And in the White Tower, we have our own Ethics, not necessarily seperate from the average healer, but holding to a much higher level of discipline and wisdom. Aes Sedai again, is in the Old Tongue, Servant of All.

This means that as a Healer, you should not hold bias for or against any Nation or social standing.

The Wheel Weaves as the Wheel wills, and as we are all for the same purpose, that of Protection and husbandry of the Good of Mankind against the Dark, we must realize that every life is important.

And we cannot imagine where the Wheel will weave the thread of a life.

A pauper from Tear may prove a great General against the Shadow's horde, as much as the Lords of the Borderlands.

Allow a thread to be prematurely torn from the world because of selfish or maleficence or carelessness, and you might find yourself dooming the world generations in the future.

The best interest of the patient. This means, without any regard for selfish interests... for monetary gain, for pride, for glory...for the interests of others, or any personal gain...
You must make your decisions considering what is best for your patient. And use every available means, ability, and skill you have at your disposal to Heal.

Do good, avoid evil.

Lack of reguard for the patient, called negligence falls under this point.

Using your best judgement as a Healer, you moraly must treat any and all that you can within the range of your own strenght, dignity, and well-being.

For example if you just do not like the person, or if you have a headache, refusing treatment is unethical. If you are standing there bleeding to death, no one can expect you to continue your work untill you are in better condition.

Incompetence, another sub-point. This means it is up to you to use your best judgement in referring to a more knowlegable person if Healing requires something that is beyond your power or capability. If you don't know how to treat somebody, or do not have the means to safely do so, going ahead anyway can cause much more harm then good.

Your knowlege of Healing is also knowlege of Harm.

As a Healer, you know every part of the body. The centers for pain, and the methods of prevention of pain. Which in reverse, makes you knowlegable of methods of inducing pain.
Like wise of death.

Which leads to the second point of Ethics...

"first, do no harm"

Using your ability and knowlege of Healing to do harm for the interests of yourself or of others, it is absolute Evil,

It is an abomination to employ the Gift of Life and Healing as an instrument of Pain and Death.
Your gift should not be used to assist in any way in the use of Pain for coersion of information.

Now that is a point of debate for some, but as Ethics is a slippery and subjective topic, one might argue against almost anything taught here today.

Healing should not be used in any way to assist in the Death of another, even if it means a quiet and painless death.

This is not only A blatent violation of the Third Oath in many eyes, But also an abuse of your Gift and Talent, and the trust you inevitabley garner from your position as a Healer.

Do no Harm. It is clear as day.

Even if you have need to study to expand the knowlege of your field, for the benefit of mankind as a whole... You will harm none.

Empathy for your patient is more of a sub-point, yet not any less important. What is empathy then in this context?

Have empathy for your patients no matter how you are interacting with them. I do not mean to let this empathy take hold of you, and cloud your judgement. But it will allow you to be a better Healer, and in my opinion, a better overall human being.

Truthfulness and honesty, then will be the next point of Ethics in my lecture.

The seeking of knowlege is a duty for us all in the Tower, whether in Healing or not.
But as far as Healing goes, this inevitabley means experimentation.

To experiment on a -person- where you have doubt of the benificial nature, is unethical and wrong.

Meaning if you have even the slightest feeling that it will harm your subject, do not procede.

The person would without doubt not participate if he knew he might be harmed. And your patient must know what you are doing, how you plan to do it.

Truthfulness and Honesty...

The human being you are dealing with has the right to know what you are doing to his body. He has the right to refuse as well.

I have seen so often Novices and Accepteds weave healing and other things on people without asking their consent. I do not know whether to feel disgusted or to feel pity. For I know very well the urge to Heal a wound.

I see Novices and Accepteds look at a person who is in NO need of healing, and for lack of something to do... Will weave fire to the person's muscles, or Armor their skin.

Without asking first.

This is most Unethical.

If you do not let the person know first, you might be doing harm.

Personal distress, sisters... is harmful.

I almost switched a Wilder in Caemlyn for weaving uninvited on the wife of a Whitecloak. While I share no love for the woman, the good intentions of the Wilder turned to Harm, Dishonesty, and the robbing of the free will of the injured woman.

I cannot stress enough that it is most wrong to employ your gift on an unwitting or unwilling person.

The patient has the right to refuse or choose their treatment. It is called Autonomy.

Unless the person is unconsious and unable to speak for themselves, you will not administer treatment without his full knowlege and clear consent.

If that person is indeed unable to answer, ask a close friend or relative who would intimately know what he would choose. Or failing that, use your best judgement and common sense.

I understand it is hard and frustrating to watch a man die because of his fears and ignorance. But as much power as you have as a Healer, you are NOT the Creator. You have no right to steal a person's free will, even to save his life.

There are many cultures and nations and paths of belief that you might not understand.

There are places where it is an honor to embrace death or pain. And if a patient refuses, you must honor his wishes.

You will, again, employ all knowlege and ability that you have to do right.... Dignity. The next point of Ethics.

You may suggest the use of herbs or another form of treatment, for example, if the person carries an aversion to the One Power. If he does not comply, you may stay with him and offer comfort. For a soothing voice and touch is also a resourse of healing.

Providing Comfort in a man's last breaths may be all you can do for him. Again, as the first point suggests, do -all- you can for the good of the patient.

All people have the right to dignity.

A method that steals the free will of your patient turns him into an animal in your eyes.

There is no dignity there for either of you.

A beggar has the right to as much dignity as a Lord. Both are men. As impovrished and wretched as a filth covered vagabond he may be in your eyes, he is still a man who has every right to treatment as anyone else. And it is your duty to do your best to treat anyone in need.

This is applied as Justice.

Healers are only a handful compared to those in need.

Do not give preference to a man of wealth or appeal over one who has nothing soley based on that wealth or appeal.

This would be ignoring the first point, as well, to benefit the patient with no consideration of personal gain.

Give treatment in good faith to those who have the most dire need first.

Primarily are those who are near death.

Secondly are those who are in great pain.

Consider last those who are in need of simpley cosmetic treatment.

Now keep in mind that although you do have the power to Heal, you do not have to heal any and all all of the time. If someone is being hostile or abusive to you, you may refuse him treatment. You are due the same respect that ethically is due to your patient.

Also, all that you do, as you should well know by now, must be within the scope of White Tower law and tradition. If someone is a criminal of the Tower, then the Tower demands you deny said criminal Healing.

As well as avoiding taking part in the wars of other nations. If a Defender is fighting a Companion, you must not be involved at all, do not offer or give Healing or Support to either party. It does not matter if he is a friend or not.

Doing this, as a representitive of the White Tower, you would give the impression that us as a whole give support to the one nation over the other. Among other reasons.

As you can see, each of these points of ethics ties to the other. They are not separate, and you must keep all in mind when Healing.