Cytopathologists frequently interact directly with patients at their bedsides to perform fine needle aspiration procedures. When, if ever, should cytopathologists share preliminary diagnostic impressions directly with patients?
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(8):779-785. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.8.ecas3-1608.
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.
A medical student has no duty to refrain from repeating a clinical instructor’s comments except for patient-revealing elements. He may, in fact, have a duty to repeat those remarks to someone who can correct the instructor.
Federal regulations governing egg donation fall into two categories: safety testing and truth in advertising. Neither deals directly with informed consent by, for example, specifying what information donors must be given.
When family members request treatment, physicians should attempt to see that they get good care, preserve good relationships with them, and put neither themselves nor their relatives at risk.
Requirements for informed consent are relatively vague and the exceptions are few, so it is in the physician’s best interest to inform patients about proposed treatment options, ascertain that they understand their choices, and secure their consent.
Patients seeking IVF are highly motivated to become parents and may wish to preserve financial resources for surrogacy or adoption should IVF not succeed, so risk sharing appeals to them, which makes its high cost especially problematic.