Dr Madeline Ward joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article: “Why We Need to Stop Labeling Behaviors Influencing a Person’s Weight Ideal or Healthy."

Dr Emily Roberts joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article: “How Innovative Designs Can Help Ease Ethical Tension in Good Dementia Caregiving and Decision-Making.”

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.

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

The diagnostic and clinical criteria for diagnosing persistent vegetative state.

As high-tech care decisions led to value clashes in hospital corridors, ethics committees developed to respond to diverse viewpoints, families’ concerns, and clinicians’ moral distress. They now exist in almost all US health care organizations.

Social media platforms and organizational websites that facilitate organ procurement should respect potential donors’ autonomy and confidentiality.

Hospital ethics committees originated with concerns about legal liability, but today they educate, develop and implement policies, and review cases.

Neurologists need to understand and be able to identify the most distinguishing features of permanent vegetative state.

Physicians must maintain strong communication lines and document discussions with patient surrogates to avoid confusion regarding end-of-life care and decisions for patients with irreversible brain damage.