Emergency medicine clinics of North America
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Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · May 1999
Review Case ReportsEmergency department treatment of minors.
This article discusses the practical application of ethical issues in the ED treatment of minors, beginning with a brief discussion of basic principles (including differences between adults and minors), and issues of consent and confidentiality. The remainder of the article focuses on case studies that explore the topics of drug and alcohol screening, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and sexual assault.
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Ethics is the application of values and moral rules to human activities. Bioethics is a subsection of ethics, actually a part of applied ethics, that uses ethical principles and decision making to solve actual or anticipated dilemmas in medicine and biology. This article focuses on the primary principles of biomedical ethics and their implications for physicians in the ED.
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Conflicts of interest have become prevalent in the daily practice of emergency medicine because physician relationships with patients, hospitals, insurers, and the medical industry have become increasingly complex. Conflict resolution requires both physician recognition and available resources to avoid engaging in a conflict that may jeopardize public confidence regarding patient advocacy. This article analyzes the essential characteristics of several conflicts of interest that apply to emergency physicians, and reviews rational ways to systematically avoid or curtail them.
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The integration of an honor code in medical school curricula might be a means to enhance the moral education of medical students. In recent years, the subject of medical ethics has seen a rebirth; not only is the literature replete with material but the training of physicians is centered in no small way upon the inculcation of a core set of values that will accompany students throughout their careers. However, medical ethics as currently taught remains abstract and, often, intangible for young physicians in training. This article will address the means by which the use of an honor code in modern medical schooling might foster a more virtuous and ethical individual and, in turn, physician.