Dr Larry R. Churchill joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article, coauthored with Dr Gail E. Henderson and Professor Nancy M.P. King: “Why Climate Literacy Is Health Literacy.”
Nicholas Rubashkin, MD, MA and Nicole Minckas, MSc
Because witnessing obstetric violence can cause moral distress, medical schools should prepare students to provide responsible care during abroad rotations.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(3):283-246. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.3.ecas2-1803.
Marcia C. Inhorn, PhD, MPH and Pasquale Patrizio, MD, MBE
Low-cost in vitro fertilization (LCIVF) is better than no infertility treatment in countries that prohibit adoption and third-party reproductive assistance.
AMA J Ethics. 2018; 20(3):228-237. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.3.ecas1-1803.
The physician must help patients understand that all options—further testing, surgery, no action—carry risks and benefits. Disclosing the statistical probability of injury and other possible outcomes might help, but it can also hinder the process.
After assessing the reasons for a patient’s unrealistic hopefulness in the face of clear understanding, a clinician may believe that significant harm will come to the patient if he or she does not acknowledge the seriousness of the illness.
One strategy is to determine “triggers” that alert the primary clinician that the patient has a high symptom burden or difficulty coping with the diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment plans and should be offered palliative care services.
If a patient’s feelings become sources of resistance to treatment, clinicians need to know how to address these feelings’ influence on the therapeutic capacity of patient-clinician relationships.
AMA J Ethics. 2017; 19(5):436-443. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.5.ecas3-1705.
Laurel J. Lyckholm, MD and Arwa K. Aburizik, MD, MS
Decision-making capacity can be preserved in patients with mental illness and should be formally assessed in the context of their values and past decisions.
AMA J Ethics. 2017; 19(5):444-453. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.5.ecas4-1705.
There is evidence that children who are unaware of their life-threatening diagnoses do not experience any less distress and anxiety than those who are told, and in some cases they may actually experience more.