It is often difficult for the clinical team to accept a patient’s family members as allies rather than adversaries. Close relatives know more about the patient than members of the medical team and may well share some of the patient’s values.
Inquire about the patient’s current living situation. Ask about feelings of neglect or abuse and look for signs (e.g., weight loss, contusions, pressure sores, or poor hygiene) that might indicate an unsafe home environment.
Sandra R. DiBrito, MD and Macey L. Henderson, JD, PhD
Organ donor potential should not be considered during active resuscitation of trauma patients, and trauma surgeons should not make organ donation requests.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(5):447-454. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.5.ecas4-1805.
Although identical twin-to-twin skin grafting has resulted in excellent survival rates in burn patients, the nature and scope of ethical decision making in monozygotic sibling skin grafting needs further examination.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(6):537-545. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.6.cscm2-1806.
After the infant’s birth, the neonatologist’s first duty is to his or her patient—the newly born infant. If clinical circumstances are different than anticipated, the physician must first consider the best interests of the baby.
Family presence in the trauma bay is not entirely analogous to family presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and requires a chaperone system.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(5):455-463. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.5.ecas5-1805.
Physicians new to a case might object to an established care plan. Practice variation, clinical momentum, and how value is assigned by different parties to acute care and comfort measures can each contribute to conflict in these cases.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(8):E699-707. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.699.