When patients are unable to express their wishes and do not have surrogates or advance directives, which and whose values should inform decision making for them? We discuss ethical complexities of caring for unrepresented patients.

Dr Laura Guidry-Grimes helps us consider whether and which decisions can be shared with people experiencing mental illnesses.

Jamaljé R. Bassue joins Ethics Talk to discuss his short film: “You Might Be Here Awhile.”

Dr Sunita Sah joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article: “How Should the US Federal Government Oversee Clinicians’ Relationships With Industry?”

Professor Wendy E. Parmet joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Dr Claudia E. Haupt: “Holding Clinicians in Public Office Accountable to Professional Standards.”

Dr Ghassan S. Abu-Sittah joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article, coauthored with Dr Thalia Arawi and Bashar Hassan: “Everyone Is Harmed When Clinicians Aren’t Prepared”

This month, Virtual Mentor issue editor Rashmi Kudesia interviewed Sarah S. Richardson about the emerging field of “maternal effects,” that is, the study of the influences of a pregnant woman’s behavior, exposures, and physiology on her offspring’s future health and development.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Colleen Farrell, a fourth-year medical student at Harvard Medical School, interviewed Lachlan Forrow, MD, about the benefits of interprofessional collaboration and the importance of biopsychosocial approaches to patient care.

AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Emily Johnson, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, interviewed Susan Mizner, JD, about some merits, drawbacks, and alternatives to guardianship.

Kathleen Wong joins Ethics Talk to discuss her comic: “Lit, Unread, Unrested.”