Decision making in health care demands that we balance multiple considerations, like quality of life, statistics, and how different options could affect others. Dr Brian Zikmund-Fisher shares his own experience as a patient and explains how decision science can help us navigate ethically complex health decisions.
Medical students’ moral distress about end-of-life cases can be reduced through ethics consultation and ethics rounds, narrative reflection, and mentoring.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(6):585-594. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.6.stas1-1706.
When patients express overt racism, caregivers need to feel safe and supported. The scope of organizations’ responsibilities to make that happen needs to be clearly defined.
AMA J Ethics. 2019;21(6):E499-504. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2019.499.
Women who are pregnant might not treat their mental illnesses because they overestimate risks of medication and underestimate risks of leaving their illness untreated.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(6):614-623. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.6.stas1-1606.
Shared decision making honors patient autonomy, particularly for preference-sensitive care decisions and even when patients have impaired decision-making capacity.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(5):E358-364. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.358.