Katherine Gentry, MD, MA and Aaron Wightman, MD, MA
A patient’s refusal of tracheostomy during an anticipated difficult intubation prompts critical questions about how to best express respect for a pediatric patient’s autonomy and whether and when deviation from standard of care is clinically and ethically appropriate.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(8):E683-689. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.683.
Physicians new to a case might object to an established care plan. Practice variation, clinical momentum, and how value is assigned by different parties to acute care and comfort measures can each contribute to conflict in these cases.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(8):E699-707. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.699.
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.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(8):E717-723. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.717.
Mark Pfeifer, MD and Barbara A. Head, PhD, CHPN, ACSW
Interdisciplinary support, securing reliable information from a patient’s health record, and taking a “who, what, when, where, and how” approach to conversation can improve care planning with dying patients and their loved ones.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(8):E724-731. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.724.
Abraar Karan, MD, Daniel DeUgarte, MD, and Michele Barry, MD
Responsibility for physician “brain drain” can be attributed to the resource-poor countries that lose talent, the wealthy recruiting countries, and individuals.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(7):665-675. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.7.ecas1-1607.
Patient safety is a medical ethics issue that must be addressed through health care teams’ open communication as well as through time-outs and checklists.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(9):925-932. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.9.stas1-1609.
Emergency medical consultations share with other emergencies the need for prompt action, potentially without information or tools ordinarily available.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(5):479-484. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.5.ecas1-1605.