Caregivers often think that so-called “frequent-flyer” patients are at fault for their poor medical outcomes. In many such cases, though, unaddressed psychosocial issues are the root of the patients’ repeat visits to the emergency department.
About 80 percent of children in the ER for suturing preferred a woman doctor; 60 percent of their parents preferred a man, 19 percent, a woman, and 21 percent, the doctor with the most experience.
Awareness of transference reactions, practicing active listening and reflection, pausing, and articulating one’s understanding of another’s emotional motivations can help cultivate deeper patient-clinician relationships at the end of life.
Barriers to effective prognosis conversations include knowledge deficits, misconceptions, cultural differences, and lack of motivation. These can be addressed head-on by good communication interventions.
Giving undocumented immigrants and those with DACA status (DREAMers) access to health care and medical education enables them to contribute to these systems.
Does a patient’s request not to have a diagnosis included in her health record undermine a clinician’s capacity to provide clinically and ethically appropriate treatment?
In order to successfully resolve ethical conflicts, bioethics consultants must pay attention to process and heed stakeholders’ perspectives and values.
Dr Jane Lee joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Drs Gabriel Robles and Latoya Small: “What Should Students Learn About the Importance of Cultural Brokering in Immigrant Communities?”