Tag: ethics
The Healer’s Power
Although the physician's use and misuse of power have been discussed in the social sciences and in literature, they have never been explored in medical ethics until now. In this book, Dr. Howard Brody argues that the... read more
Withdraw Life-Sustaining Treatments for Patients with Severe TBI
The decision to withdraw life support from patients with severe brain injuries is very difficult. In a study conducted in Canadian Medical Association Journal, critical care physicians were asked about the decision-making... read more
Withholding or Withdrawing of Life-sustaining Therapy in Older Adults Admitted to the ICU
The most important patient variables associated with the instigation of Life-sustaining Therapy (LST) limitation were acute admission, frailty, age, admission SOFA score and country. LST limitation was identified in 1356/5021... read more
Critical Care Study Guide: Text and Review
Critical care medicine is a dynamic and exciting arena where complex pathophysiologic states require extensive knowledge and up-to-date clinical information. An extensive knowledge of basic pathophysiology, as well as awareness... read more
How Should ECMO Initiation and Withdrawal Decisions Be Shared?
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a new technology used to rescue patients with severe circulatory or respiratory failure and help bridge them to recovery or to definitive therapies like device implantation or... read more
Research Ethics and Informed Consent in Critical Care
Research studies in critically ill populations pose many unique regulatory and ethical challenges that have implications for study design and execution. The life-threatening nature of conditions being studied and the urgency... read more
Ethical Dilemmas in Pediatrics
Children in precarious health present particular problems for healthcare professionals because of their intimate relation to their family, and because of the family's need to provide major long-term source of support and... read more
Graceful Exit: How to Advocate Effectively, Take Care of Yourself, and Be Present for the Death of a Loved One
When we are thrust into the role of caregiver for a loved one who is in the process of dying, it's easy to get overwhelmed. Yet it's a situation millions of us face every year with virtually no sort of preparation or guidance.... read more
Hospital Elder Life Program: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Effectiveness
The Hospital Elder Life Program is effective in reducing incidence of delirium and rate of falls, with a trend toward decreasing length of stay and preventing institutionalization. With ongoing efforts in continuous program... read more
Humanizing the ICU
In the midst of trying to correct organ failures, clinicians may neglect to carefully consider what the patient is experiencing: to be on the brink of death, be unable to speak, be stripped naked, have strangers enter the... read more
Ethical dilemmas in Emergency Medicine
When we talk about triage, we could mean several things. We might mean the triage of patients arriving in the ED to assign clinical priority (because not everyone can be seen instantly); we might mean the triage of patients... read more
When health professionals have empathy, patients aren’t the only ones who benefit
What do doctors and religious leaders have in common? At least a couple of big things: individuals in both professions engage with people at some of the most critical moments in their lives and require a high degree of empathy... read more
The white coat means something more to patients
How do we choose what we wear when seeing patients? Is it by what tradition dictates? Do we need to meet our institution's dress code? Or do we just like what makes us comfortable? (Those scrubs sure are comfy — almost... read more
Failures in the Respectful Care of Critically Ill Patients
Care that is inadequately respectful to patients and families in the setting of critical illness is prevalent but does not appear to be associated with clinical characteristics. The incidence of such emotional harms is nuanced,... read more
Time-limited Trial of Intensive Care Treatment
In critically ill patients, it is frequently challenging to identify who will benefit from admission to the intensive care unit and life-sustaining interventions when the chances of a meaningful outcome are unclear. In addition,... read more
Effectively Expressing Empathy to Improve ICU Care
In nearly every intensive care unit (ICU) at every pediatric hospital across the country, physicians hold numerous care conferences with patients' family members daily. Due to the challenging nature of many these conversations--covering... read more
Establishing a Relationship of Trust and Care
An admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) is often a traumatic experience for both patients and families. Although members of the critical care team are specially trained to provide care and treatment requiring close,... read more
