U.S. and international medical organizations recommend against testing children for genetic diseases that occur after adolescence and for which no prevention or treatment is available.
Unclear regulations and informal data gathering on immigrants who receive or donate organs can cause mistrust and suspicion of the organ allocation system and affect donation rates.
Bias toward allopathic medicine in the research funding and publication of study results makes it difficult for physicians and others to find accurate data about the efficacy of non-Western, nonallopathic treatments.
When recruiting physicians from developing countries for U.S. residency training slots there are ethical concerns that program directors and potential residents should be aware of and discuss.
One way of thinking about whether medical school candidates' personalities should influence admission is to ask the question, "Would you want this person to care for one of your loved ones?"
Johanna Shapiro, PhD, Elena Bezzubova, MD, PhD, and Ronald Koons, MD
Exposing medical students to narrative medicine by having them tell and interpret the stories of their patient encounters may help them become more empathic, more present, and more insightful physicians.
Applicants to medical school are expected to live by their presentation of themselves and of their commitment to medical practice. It is not just a retrospective report but also a promise to which admissions officers should be able to expect them to adhere.