AlphaMED Resources · https://alphamedicine.uk/Resources/glossary/distributive-justice
Distributive justice
Distributive justice is the fair sharing of limited resources among everyone who needs them.
Summary
- In healthcare the resources include funding, organs, beds and staff time.
- Common ways of sharing are by need, by the benefit expected, by time spent waiting, or equally.
- The NHS uses several at once. Transplant organs are allocated using a mix of need, expected benefit and waiting time.
- It is the part of justice, one of the four pillars, that deals with resources.
Interview questions
- There is one intensive care bed and two patients who need it. How do you decide?
- Is it fair that some treatments are available in one area and not in another?
- Should the NHS fund very expensive drugs for rare diseases?
Practise answering these with a mentor
Our interview preparation has you answer questions like these out loud, with feedback on each answer.
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More NHS hot topics, medical ethics case studies and medical school interview questions are in AlphaMED Resources, which we add to and update through the application cycle.