Michael Hawking, MD, MSc, Farr A. Curlin, MD, and John D. Yoon, MD
Applying a virtue ethics approach—and especially the virtues of courage and compassion—enables clinicians to care appropriately for “difficult” patients.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(4):357-363. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.4.medu2-1704.
Anne-Marie Laberge, MD, PhD and Wylie Burke, MD, PhD
Physicians and counselors must address the importance of communicating genetic test results to family members in the pre-test counseling and informed-consent processes prior to testing.
The practice of banking sperm from adolescents about to undergo chemotherapy is not universal, which lends support to the argument that parental consent be required for the intervention.
Putting the interest of patients first means attending to what the patient thinks is most important as well as treating medically significant symptoms and conditions.
Should physicians engage beliefs and practices that do not agree with their medical judgment as a means to securing patient adherence to recommended treatment?