In clinical settings, chaplains are key communicators who help mediate between patients, families, and the medical team. This month on Ethics Talk, we explore how chaplains help patients and families articulate their goals and navigate logistical and emotional challenges that arise in the hospital.
The authors address the medical ethics question of whether autopsy is necessary from Cartesian and sociocultural perspectives and how to obtain consent.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(8):771-778. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.8.ecas2-1608.
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.
Thoughtful design can welcome patients’ families’ roles in promoting healing. At the same time, clinicians’ need for functionality and privacy is critical. How ought these considerations be balanced in designing the spaces where patient care takes place?
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(1):73-76. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.18.1.sect1-1601.
In treating children with autism, physicians should reframe the common dynamic in which the family wants medication that the doctor is withholding to focus instead on the family’s and physician’s share goal—the patient’s well-being.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(4):299-304. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.4.ecas1-1504.
Jason D. Hall, JD, Lee A. Goeddel, MD, MPH, and Thomas R. Vetter, MD, MPH
In the perioperative surgical home, the anesthesiologist coordinates care with other team members to provide seamless continuity from preoperative evaluation to postoperative care.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(3):243-247. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.3.stas2-1503.
My most important job is to help my patients (and their families) who are depressed, grieving, or angry following severe injury or illness to imagine possible narratives for the next chapter of life.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(6):500-505. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.6.ecas1-1506.
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.
Kimberly R. Myers, MA, PhD and Michael D.F. Goldenberg, MA
Graphic pathographies can facilitate physicians’ empathy with patients during informed consent and end-of-life conversations and promote patient education.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(2):158-166. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.2.medu2-1802.