Advertising a plastic surgery practice on social media can be ethically fraught, and deceptive online marketing techniques can lead to patients feeling betrayed.

A hypothetical clinical case discusses patient demand for advanced diagnostics such as MRIs when physicians do not recommend such tests. Better patient education is the suggested approach.

A discussion of how physicians should handle a patient's request to be tested for diseases that have received a high level of media coverage.

Invention of the stethoscope in 1816 changed the patient-physician relationship. Technology, widely used in medicine today, is not a substitute for the physician’s human understanding of the patient’s life.

Dr. Oz’s advice has raised ethical questions about medicine as a profession, its evidentiary standards, and its role in maintaining public trust.

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.

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.

Barriers to effective prognosis conversations include knowledge deficits, misconceptions, cultural differences, and lack of motivation. These can be addressed head-on by good communication interventions.

Physicians should attempt to monitor the training schedules of adolescent athletes to help ensure a balance between academics, friends, and sports.

Patients should not be obligated to change a successful prescription routine in order to save money.