Muhammad Ahmed Abdullah, Nargis Yousuf Sattar, Adnan Zahid.
The ethics of doctors going on strike: a crossectional survey of Pakistani doctors.
Pak J Public Health Jan ;4(1):15-9.
Background: In the wake of the recent strikes of the Y oung Doctors Association Punjab many ethical questions arose. This paper discusses the ethical implications of such actions. Method: We conducted a Descriptive survey using the website 'surveymonkey .com' and posted it on various communities for Pakistani doctors on 'Facebook.com'. Results: A total of 96 people responded to our 10 point questionnaire out of which 85 were eventually selected for analysis. Most (70.5%) respondents were of the opinion that doctors have a right to go on strike and around 82% claimed to be aware of the ethical implications of a doctor's strike. 41.2% were directly involved in the strikes while the rest were either not a part or were not sure of it. Less than half of the respondents (47.1%) were formally trained in medical ethics. The questions about the ethical implications were open ended. The main purpose of this study is to generate an academic debate for dening a clear cut line of action may, before health care providers decide to use their right of industrial action Conclusion: Doctors in developing countries face tough working conditions with limited remuneration. This often leads them towards a struggle to achieve their personal rights, but in the process many aspects of patient rights are thwarted. T o solve this cumbersome issue it is imperative that the regional and global authorities responsible for ascertaining the practice of biomedical ethics should come into play by clearly dening the conditions in which doctors should utilize their right of strike in a way that does not hurt patient rights. Also all physicians should be trained thoroughly in the basic principles of medical ethics starting from the time when they are medical students; so that when a situation arises where industrial action is demanded of them by their fellows each individual may be qualied enough to weigh the situation on a personal level
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