When patients are unable to express their wishes and do not have surrogates or advance directives, which and whose values should inform decision making for them? We discuss ethical complexities of caring for unrepresented patients.

Dr Brent M. Kious joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article, coauthored with Dr Ryan H. Nelson: “Does It Matter Whether a Psychiatric Intervention Is ‘Palliative’?”

 

Dr Awais Aftab joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article: “What Should Clinicians Know About Palliative Psychopharmacology?”

AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Amanda Xi, MD, a transitional year resident at Henry Ford Hospital, interviewed Donald M. Berwick, MD, shortly before the Supreme Court’s decision in King versus Burwell.

Virtual Mentor issue editor Sophia Cedola, a medical student at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, interviewed Dr. Craig Blinderman about talking with patients who are terminally ill, asking him whether there are some key “do’s” and “don’ts” for having end-of-life conversations with patients and their families.

This month, Virtual Mentor spoke with Dr. Alex Ding and Mr. Jordan VanLare, a fourth-year medical student at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, about their impressions of health reform and how it will impact the medical practice environment they will soon enter.

Dr Thaddeus M. Pope joins Health By Law to discuss updates to the Uniform Law Commission’s Health-Care Decisions Act.

Dr John Chenault joins Ethics Talk to explain one historical view of critical theory in health professions education.

Chioma Onuoha joins Ethics Talk to discuss her article, coauthored with Drs Jennifer Tsai and Rohan Khazanchi: “Using Critical Pedagogy to Advance Antiracism in Health Professions Education.”

Dr John Chenault joins Ethics Teaching and Learning to discuss how he uses critical theory to prepare health professions students to better distinguish representation from reality.