In case consultation, no single ethical principle suffices.
Cases vary too much to make such generalizations.
Cases are grouped together based on how they appear overall. Likewise, while some ethics consultants advocate structured, formal frameworks for clinical decision-making, most consultants actually apply such constructs gently and with great caution. Intuition, metaphor, common sense, religious tradition, hospital policy, or state law could be the crucial factor in a particular consultation. Ethics consultants must be flexible and view a case depending on the clinical details given and discovered. Consultants should be persistent in their pursuit of this goal.