You are not just the rural patient’s doctor, you are the doctor for the football team, a friend, and perhaps a relative; you speak on health at local schools and are expected to attend fundraisers.
If a patient’s feelings become sources of resistance to treatment, clinicians need to know how to address these feelings’ influence on the therapeutic capacity of patient-clinician relationships.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(5):436-443. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.5.ecas3-1705.
The graphic novel Swallow Me Whole highlights the need for patient-centered care that engages not only patients but also extended family and the community.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(2):148-153. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.2.ecas3-1802.
In the past, forced sterilizations violated the autonomy of vulnerable women. Today, measures intended to protect such women from the abuses of the past may in fact hamper their autonomy in a different way.
A discussion of ethics concerns in psychiatric genetics focusing on predictive genetic testing, psychosocial consequences for patients, effects on family and communities, and the ethics of some emerging technologies.
Because the number of patients undergoing genetic testing is increasing, medical staff should be conscientious about their patients' potential needs for genetic counseling and be ready to advise patients on communicating their diagnoses to at-risk family members or refer them to genetic counselors.