Medical Ethics Advisor – February 1, 2024

Difficult Cases, Unclear Boundaries Put Ethicists at Risk for Burnout

Many ethicists play an important role in addressing burnout at their organizations — by identifying moral distress, connecting clinicians with resources, or holding debriefings after difficult cases. Yet ethicists themselves are experiencing burnout.

Fraudulent ‘Participants’ Are Ethical Concern — Even in Qualitative Studies

Researchers need to be vigilant in identifying suspicious responses in study samples.

Ethics Education Is Inconsistent, But Students Are Interested

Ethics instruction still varies widely at medical schools in terms of the content taught and the amount of time allocated.

Ethicists Want to Improve Consults — But More (and Better) Data Are Needed

Quality improvement is uniquely challenging in the ethics field because of lack of time, lack of resources, and, to some extent, the nature of clinical ethics itself.

Evolving Attitudes on Ethics of Adolescent Self-Consent

Ethical considerations regarding adolescent self-consent in healthcare decisions

Ethical Guidance for Clinicians Facing Oncology Drug Shortages

Drug shortages have been a challenging problem for many years, but they have become even more prevalent in recent years as a result of supply chain challenges and regulatory changes.

Brief Intervention Reduces Nurses’ Compassion Fatigue

A group of researchers evaluated how a brief mindfulness-based intervention affected compassion fatigue during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emergency Nurses Face Barriers to Serious Illness Conversations

Emergency nurses view lack of privacy, concerns about delayed patient throughput, and perceived difficulty as barriers to having serious illness conversations with patients in the emergency department (ED) setting, a recent study found.

Patients Want Spiritual Support — But Can Clinicians Provide It?

Many patients struggling with a serious or advanced illness want to talk with clinicians about spirituality.

POLST Completion Ensures Patient Wishes Are Honored at Future Visits

Having a DNR Portable Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form in place ensures that patients’ stated wishes are followed at future visits.