Jesse Feierabend-Peters, MD, PhD and Hugh Silk, MD, MPH
Despite availability of good national oral health curricula for medical trainees, most physicians are ill-equipped to identify oral cancers or avoid unnecessary referrals.
AMA J Ethics. 2022;24(1):E19-26. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2022.19.
Physicians need better education in nutrition science. Referring patients to nutrition experts for dietary counseling would motivate food availability and intake assessment as routine. Good clinical counseling considers patients' cultural traditions and environmental sustainability as key ethical values.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(10):E994-1000. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.994.
The DSM-5 Task Force’s handling of the ethical controversy over the bereavement exclusion demonstrates the need for more inclusive deliberative processes.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(2):192-198. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.2.pfor2-1702.
The Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) seeks to build trusting relationships with patients before addressing their medical needs and to take account of their surrounding environment in treatment.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(5):469-472. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.5.mnar2-1505.
Instead of succumbing to the urge to portray cultural differences as a dichotomy between clashing opposites, we should endeavor to note our common humanity, acknowledge the plurality of viewpoints within a given culture, and appreciate that cultures can evolve without being untrue to themselves.
The author argues that long-term trends point to a future for physician assistants and nurse practitioners as the principal front-line deliverers of primary care, with physicians focusing on managerial duties and specialty care.