Browse Medical Ethics Articles by Topic

Ending Race Disparities: ‘Less About Clinical Interventions, Much More About Ethics’

A leading expert explains why disparities persist and how ethicists can help.

Ethical Guidance Needed if Someone Wants to Override Patient’s Wishes

Hospitals could put a policy in writing to make clear the obligation of staff to follow a patient’s previously expressed decisions and the obligation of the surrogate to make the decision the patient would want, not the decision the surrogate would want.

ICU Length of Stay Linked to Burnout in Critical Care Nurses

Considering longer length of stay is a possible consequence of burnout, there is an ethical concern that patients are harmed when exposed to healthcare systems with high rates of clinical staff burnout.

When Clinicians Ask Urgent Ethical Questions, Time Is of the Essence

When busy clinicians ask for ethics help, they need assistance now, not weeks later. Ethics’ response should be just as timely as any medical or surgical subspecialty service. When clinicians receive a quick, helpful response from ethics, word spreads quickly in healthcare organizations.

PEACE Rounds Promote Better Communication in Neonatal ICU

Conflicts can happen between nurses and physicians, families and physicians, and social workers and families. Weekly Patient Experience and Communication Excellence (PEACE) rounds, implemented in 2016 in the pediatric intensive care unit at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, has ameliorated healthcare providers’ moral distress and shortened length of stay for some patients.

Students Shadow Chaplains, Connect with Patients

Medical students led the creation of a grassroots ethics program that includes lunch-and-learn sessions, ethics presentations, faculty-student mentorship sessions, student ethics committee discussions, and an ethics capstone scholarly project. Students learn to recognize ethical issues in everyday medical decisions as they transition to providing direct patient care on clinical wards.

Demand for Ethics Education Surges at Medical Schools

Experts argue ethics education should be a lifelong process, not a one-time course in medical school.

Research Group Increased Minority Participation by 533%

One barrier to enrolling minorities in research involves resources. For some studies, such as pediatric oncology clinical trials, there might not be enough resources to enroll one or two patients at a single site.

Diversity and Inclusion Go Beyond Race and Ethnicity

Researchers assessing the demographic statistics of All of Us Research Program participants prioritized enrolling racial, ethnic, and other minorities that, historically, have been underrepresented in clinical trials. The researchers concluded studies need to incorporate more diverse factors as key variables to ensure inclusion and identify barriers that limit research participation.

Research Community Seeks to Enroll More Minorities in Clinical Trials

Several months of data from the COVID-19 pandemic showed that African Americans and other people of color were disproportionately dying from the disease. Disparities in how COVID-19 affects minority communities highlight long-standing difficulties in achieving health equity in U.S. society, including clinical trials.