Scott Schweikart joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article: “AMA Code of Medical Ethics’ Opinions Related to Clinicians in Government.”

In the September 2014 issue on physicians as agents of social change, Dr. Audiey Kao, editor-in-chief of Virtual Mentor interviewed Dr. Rajiv Shah, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development or USAID.

Dr Ariane Lewis discusses how we can navigate uncertainty and ambiguity about brain death by understanding clinical criteria for brain death determination and how our approaches to death are culturally and socially situated.

Dr Olivia Kates talks about appropriate use of antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Which distinctions between minimally conscious states and vegetative states should clinicians consider?

The adverse health effects of climate change should be the focus of physician advocacy efforts and of conversations between physicians and their patients.

Physicians need to become more involved in the public debate regarding issues of medicine, science, and evolution.

Physicians should take part in public health advocacy to improve health care for all patients.

Physicians need to help surrogate decision makers to make treatment and end-of-life decisions for those with severe neurological damage by proving a realistic prognosis and maintain strong lines of communication.

We must try to understand why there is such certainty about poor prognosis in severe brain-injury cases, when in fact many patients recover, albeit to a level of function most of us would not desire.