State laws often require physicians to report suspected abuse and assault, creating a dilemma for physicians who must not only treat the injured patient but act as an informant to police.
Sheldon Zink, PhD, Rachel Zeehandelaar, and Stacey Wertlieb, MBe
The benefits of the international presumed-consent policy are presented as a solution to the United States' current shortage of organs available for transplantation.
Alcoholics should not be subject to deprioritization on a liver transplant waiting list if the belief is held that alcoholism is a disease and not an issue of moral failure for which the patient should be blamed.
In the same way that we learn about normal variations in blood pressure, we need to learn about “normal” variations in sexual interests and practices. We want to avoid clueless questions or unintentionally inflammatory statements.
The physician must consider the potential benefits of the new procedure and then determine, through discussion with the patient, what value the patient places on those specific benefits.
The NRMP’s new “all-in” policy requires every residency program to fill every first-year position either exclusively through the match or outside of it. Programs that continue to offer prematches will operate outside the match.
Allan B. Peetz, MD, Nicholas Sadovnikoff, MD, and Michael F. O’Connor, MD
Because of their serious medical conditions and the nature of the treatments, patients who are candidates for extracorporeal life support may not be able to give properly informed consent for the treatment.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(3):236-242. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.3.stas1-1503
High-performing doctors willing to work to alleviate the shortage of medical care in the United States should be encouraged to do so, not prevented because of their countries of origin.
The Wisconsin Academy for Rural Medicine seeks candidates with an increased probability of practicing in rural Wisconsin, delivers the curriculum in collaboration with rural partners, and encourages students' interest in rural practice and living.
The U.S. federal and state governments are taking steps to ameliorate the physician shortage by offering scholarship and loan-repayment options to medical students interested in primary care practice in designated underserved areas.