Tag: ethics
An Ethical Claim for Providing Medical Recommendations in PICU
The Declaration of Geneva was recently revised to emphasize patient autonomy and the importance of clinicians sharing medical knowledge. This reflects the welcome evolution of the doctor-patient relationship from one... read more
Competing and Conflicting Interests in the Care of Critically Ill Patients
Medical professionals are expected to prioritize patient interests, and most patients trust physicians to act in their best interest. However, a single patient is never a physician's sole concern. The competing interests... read more
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
