Physicians will have a greater impact on health if they advocate for changes needed to prevent illness and harm than if they simply patch up those who are sick or harmed.
Rebecca Lunstroth, JD, MA and Eugene Boisaubin, MD
Task-based small-group sessions may be more effective for teaching medical students concepts such as justice, resource allocation, and professionalism.
One of the major driving forces for migration by women is the availability of caregiving work in wealthier nations, so improving working conditions for migrant women and ensuring that elderly and other persons in need of care receive good care are intertwined goals.
Punishing women who use drugs during pregnancy deters them from seeking prenatal care and entering drug treatment programs, and the relevant policies may unfairly target poor or minority women.
In the past, forced sterilizations violated the autonomy of vulnerable women. Today, measures intended to protect such women from the abuses of the past may in fact hamper their autonomy in a different way.
Art therapy helps trafficking survivors deal with trauma, but anti-trafficking advocates who exhibit survivors’ artwork must guard against re-exploitation.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(1):98-106. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.1.imhl1-1701.
James Mills Jr., MD, a founder of emergency medicine, believed he could have greater impact on medical care for the poor in his city by giving up his practice and working in the emergency room full time.