Medical Ethics Advisor – December 1, 2012
December 1, 2012
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Sandy response points to possible bigger role for ethics during disasters
There is nothing like a mandatory hospital evacuation to underscore the importance of including ethics in emergency preparedness, according to Kenneth W. Goodman, PhD, professor and director of the Bioethics Program at University of Miami (FL). -
Medical students, residents want more ethics training
Two-thirds of medical students and residents believe there is a need for more ethics training during their curricula and training programs, according to a survey of 129 medical students and 207 residents done in 2009 and 2010 at University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. -
Surprising reasons for continuing futile treatment
The reasons for providers continuing futile life-sustaining treatment are primarily emotional, such as guilt, grief, fear of legal consequences, and concerns about the family's reaction, according to a recent study which surveyed intensive care unit (ICU) and palliative care clinicians. -
Increasing burden on family caregivers: Ethical concerns
Almost half of family caregivers perform nursing and medical tasks for family members with chronic physical and cognitive conditions, often without any training, in large part because hospitals are discharging very sick patients more quickly, according to a September 2012 report released by the AARP Public Policy Institute and the United Hospital Fund. -
Act ethically when ending patient-physician relationship
Is a physician unable to exercise reasonable objectivity in providing care, or does the physician lack the requisite skill or training to help the patient? -
IOM report makes major drug safety recommendation
One of the biggest ethical challenges with drug safety is the need for patients and providers to understand that even after a drug is approved, there is still more to learn about its benefits and potential harms, according to Ruth R. Faden, PhD, MPH, Philip Franklin Wagley Professor of Biomedical Ethics and Director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics in Baltimore, MD. -
Is vaccine refusal reason to terminate relationship?
Refusing to have a child as a patient because of a decision made by the child's parent should always be a last resort, according to Douglas S. Diekema, MD, MPH, attending physician and director of education at the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle (WA) Children's Hospital.