Physicians should fully understand the ethical principles and professional standards involved in making decisions for the treatment of impaired newborns.
Cross-cultural ethics should be regarded by physicians as an area of medical expertise that can help resolve conflicts that arise between the health traditions of international patients and those traditions that are upheld in the United States.
Guidelines for proceeding with a plan of care when family members have conflicting opinions about the patient’s wishes and the patient does not speak the same language as her physicians.
Physicians should recognize that patients’ beliefs may cause them to have non-medical explanations for their illnesses and that shared explanations should be negotiated if treatment plans are to be successful.
A case that describes how treatment decisions for a seriously ill baby should consider the advice and recommendations of the medical team as well as the parental preferences for the child's care.
An ethical case explores a 70-year-old man diagnosed with pancreatic cancer who wants to have his pacemaker turned off in order to hasten what he fears may be an unpleasant death.
An ethical case explores a 70-year-old man diagnosed with pancreatic cancer who wants to have his pacemaker turned off in order to hasten what he fears may be an unpleasant death.