Kelly Leonard, executive director of insights and applied improvisation at Second City Works, relates how improvisation can help clinicians build relationships with patients and improve their outcomes.

Dr Amber R. Comer joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Meredith Rappaport: “Treating Patients in Non-Labor and Delivery OB/GYN Examinations and Procedures.”

State laws often require physicians to report suspected abuse and assault, creating a dilemma for physicians who must not only treat the injured patient but act as an informant to police.

The Drexel University College of Medicine Women’s Health Education Program is a model for training medical students to screen for and respond to intimate partner violence.

The UCLA curriculum model educates students about intimate partner violence by integrating the topic into existing preclinical and clinical course work and offering elective experiences for interested students.

The risks associated with mandated physician reporting of intimate partner violence outweigh the benefits such a policy might confer.

Physicians are bound in most states to report treating injuries they suspect are violence related.

Physicians should be aware of the level of emotional distress and suffering that a patient is experiencing as a result of his or her illness and incorporate that into the patient's treatment plan.

Physicians should go beyond basic medical diagnosis and treatment to offer support to families about the gamut of social and emotional issues that are involved with caring for a severely disabled child.

Physicians need to manage expectations and clearly explain the prognosis of ICU patients to their families, particularly when the outcome is a negative one.