Medical school admission committees can act within current legal guidelines to identify and recruit students from groups that are underrepresented in medicine.
Health care policy changes are needed to minimize the risk to physicians responding to public health emergencies and aid in their longer-term responsibility of protecting and promoting the nation's health.
Two physicians argue that disaster preparedness for bioterrorist attacks diverts health care resources from other critical medical and public health needs.
While physicians have a duty to treat even at the risk of their own personal safety, citizens also have minimal obligations to assist those protecting them during bioterrorism or natural disasters.
Physicians should use evidence-based guidelines as a starting point to make sound clinical treatment decisions for a patient's individual medical needs.