Physician behavior that generates a patient complaint and ultimately leads to disciplinary action is both legally and ethically problematic—violating both regulatory rules and professional codes.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(5):448-455. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2015.17.5.pfor1-1505.
Volk v DeMeerleer may conflict with professional guidelines regarding physicians’ obligations to breach patient confidentiality to protect third parties.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(1):10-18. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.1.peer2-1801.
There is evidence that children who are unaware of their life-threatening diagnoses do not experience any less distress and anxiety than those who are told, and in some cases they may actually experience more.
Jennifer A. Sbicca, MD, Katherine Gordon, MD, and Stefani Takahashi, MD
Match applicants and residency program directors may express their interest in each other, but the cardinal rule of the match is they cannot ask the other how they will be ranked.
Medical schools’ and hospitals’ Title IX policies should support trainees who have been victimized as well as address known incidents of sexual harassment.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(1):3-9. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.1.peer1-1801.
This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Sarah Waliany, a fourth-year medical student at Stanford University School of Medicine, interviewed Louise Andrew, MD, JD, about mental health challenges for physicians and medical students and some strategies for colleagues to assist and intervene.