Medical Ethics Advisor – October 1, 2004
October 1, 2004
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Patients’ spirituality: Should it play a role in their care?
A nurse checks in on a 72-year-old patient recovering from pneumonia and, after checking her vital signs, asks if theres anything the patient needs. Instead of asking for water or a snack, the patient replies, Will you pray with me? What is the appropriate answer? -
Postmortem procedures controversy unresolved
From the time of the ancient Greeks, learning about the human body and how to manipulate and treat it has involved the use of cadavers. Western medicine still relies on the use of cadavers for teaching purposes, but one aspect of the use of dead bodies has emerged in recent years as a point of debate: Should medical personnel obtain consent from family members before practicing medical procedures on a newly deceased person? -
Peer ethics network created in Vancouver
When Providence Health Care system, a network providing health care at several sites in Vancouver, BC, was formed in 1997, the ethicist for the system saw an opportunity to build on that peer-adviser idea as a way to handle day-to-day ethical dilemmas. They created ethics mentors in every unit of every hospital in the system. -
Handle organ procurement delicately with families
One of the most difficult encounters for medical staff is simultaneously informing a family of the death of a loved one and bringing up the idea of donating organs and tissues. Staff awareness of resources to coordinate organ procurement and the staffs attitude toward organ procurement can make a big difference in an areas organ procurement rate. -
News Briefs
Dying patients discuss physician-assisted suicide; Public plea spurs new liver, plus some debate; Medical schools tighten conflicts-of-interest standards; Video: How to talk about medical errors. -
Audio conference: Including children in clinical research