Practice Of Medicine I:
Thinking Ethically Series 2008-2009
Session I: Becoming a Medical Student
Associated Readings
Confidentiality
Ethical Dilemmas
Fiction as Resistance
Laughter is the Best Medicine
Making Fun of Patients
Sessions II & III: Recognition and Approaches; Deliberations and Decisions
Superintendent of Belchertown State School v. Saikewicz
Associated Readings
Contemporary Issues in Bioethics (Excerpt)
Tom L. Beauchamp, LeRoy Walters, Jeffrey P. Kahn, & Anna C. Mastroianni, Contemporary Issues in Bioethics, 2008, pp. 12-33.
This excerpt from a reader on bioethics summarizes the most widely recognized approaches to biomedical ethics. It does not explicitly favor one approach above others, but sets out the strengths and weaknesses of various ethical theories (e.g., utilitarianism, Kantianism, ethics of care, principlism) informing bioethical debates.
Professional Responsibilities of Medicine
Rosamond Rhodes, The Professional Responsibilities of Medicine in The Blackwell Guide to Medical Ethics, R. Rhodes, L.P. Francis, A. Silver, eds., 2007, pp. 71-87.
This paper argues in favor of a particular approach to professional ethics (i.e., how a physician ought to act).
Questions relating to readings:
1. What are some of the difficulties in applying general ethical theories (the Beauchamp et al. excerpt) to problems of medical ethics? What might be the benefits? Do these approaches aid us in understanding what should be expected of a physician?
2. Rhodes' paper focuses on the professional ethics of physicians. Do you think her approach also applies to other health care providers, such as nurses and emergency medical personnel? What about health insurers and hospital administrators? If her "Ethical Standard of Care" applies to more than just physicians, does that mean its appeal or justification is diminished?
3. Rhodes suggests that doctors themselves define the ethical standards to which they must adhere, and seems to recognize only a minimal role for those outside the profession. Is this problematic? How and why?