Clinicians have an ethical obligation to promote health equity in their communities. This month, we discuss how clinicians worked to expose the water crisis in Flint, and explore ways that clinicians can combat systemic injustice and promote health equity.
Postmastectomy breast reconstruction should aim at the appearance of the patient’s native breast (or normal anatomy), although tattooing is also an option.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(4):366-371. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.4.msoc1-1804.
Interprofessional collaboration is a vital part of medical education. When a medical student resists learning from a nurse-midwife on a rotation, how should an academic medical faculty member respond?
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(9):898-902. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.9.ecas2-1609.
Sometimes, life-saving treatments have serious negative consequences. This month, AMA Journal of Ethics digital editor Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux discusses strategies for communicating about iatrogenic outcomes with Dr. Robert Nelson, a senior pediatric ethicist with the Food and Drug Administration, with a particular focus on how to enlist parents as allies in high-stress pediatric cases.
AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Renee Mao, a third-year medical student at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, interviewed Dr. Tarris Rosell, PhD, DMin, MDiv, about strategies for incorporating spiritual care into oncology.
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.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(8):E757-765. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.757.