Medical Ethics Advisor – February 1, 2025

Chaplains Are Asked to Do Ethics Work, but Additional Training Is Needed

Many are skeptical about chaplains’ ability to do ethics work. M. Jeanne Wirpsa, MA, BCC, HEC-C, program director and clinical ethicist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Medical Ethics Program, and colleagues conducted a study to learn more about the experience of chaplains working in the clinical ethics field.

Ethical Concerns if Clinicians Have Knowledge Gaps in Spiritual Care

Paige Stevens, MD, became interested in developing curricula to teach pediatricians — particularly pediatric critical care physicians — to incorporate the spiritual needs of patients into care plans. Stevens and colleagues conducted a targeted needs assessment to understand the current landscape of spiritual care training for pediatric critical care trainees.

Ethics Committee Members Want More Ethics Education

Many ethics committee members want to increase their ethics expertise. However, tailoring work schedules around course demands is an obstacle for many. After practicing in clinical settings for years, some ethics committee members are somewhat intimidated at the prospect of reentering a classroom in a formal academic setting.

Clinicians Face Ethical Dilemmas with Brain Death Testing

If a brain death assessment becomes necessary, clinicians can be taken aback if the family strongly objects. A one-hour simulation training improves medical trainees’ confidence in managing these ethically challenging cases, a recent study found.

Surgeons Face Ethical Challenges when Teaching Informed Consent to Residents

Residents often are tasked with obtaining informed consent from patients, and must become proficient in this important skill. According to the American Association of Medical Colleges, obtaining informed consent is a core entrustable professional activity for residents.

Clinicians Have Many Ethical Concerns with Large Language Model Use in Healthcare

Inaccurate or biased responses, concerns about patient data privacy, and risk of harm from medical misinformation are some well-known ethical concerns about large language models in healthcare.

Palliative Care Referrals Still Occur Late or Not at All

Palliative care consultations are known to affect end-of-life outcomes positively, including fewer in-hospital deaths. But despite evidence of these benefits, palliative care consults still are happening too late or not at all, found a recent study.

Ethical Considerations if Doctors Persuade Patients

If a doctor thinks that an intervention is in the patient’s best interest, is it ethically acceptable to try to persuade the patient?

Podcasts Can ‘Level the Playing Field’ with Ethics Education

Medical students and trainees may receive inadequate ethics education as the result of curricular constraints or because of limited available expertise at their institutions. Ethics podcasts are a potential solution to these challenges.

Residents’ Moral Distress Is Ethical Concern

Residents experience moral distress just as other clinicians do, raising some unique ethical concerns.

Mindfulness Improves Advance Care Planning Outcomes

Shelley Johns, PsyD, of the Regenstrief Institute, the Indiana University School of Medicine and the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues conducted a study to see if mindfulness was a possible alternative to avoidant coping for people with cancer and their family caregivers.

Ethicists Can Address Low Advance Care Billing Rates

Rates of advance care planning billing remain low, despite billing codes having been introduced by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services nearly a decade ago.

Missed Opportunities for Goals of Care Discussion

Ethics consults often involve conflicts at the end of life. Some of those conflicts could have been avoided with earlier goals of care discussions.