Medical Ethics Advisor – January 1, 2009
January 1, 2009
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Washington state voters approve physician-assisted suicide
On Nov. 4, 2008, Washington state voters passed a ballot initiative giving terminally ill patients with six months to live the right to have a physician prescribe lethal drugs for the patient to self-administer to bring about his or her death.Brody case highlights brain-death dilemma
The recent case of a 12-year-old boy named Motl Brody brought attention not only to the occasional dilemmas presented by the designation of brain death, but also how to address faith traditions in determining death.Brain-death determination creates dilemmas
While brain death is widely accepted as a way of defining when death has occurred, this determination, or category of death, can create its own set of problems.Kaldjian wins 'Defining Wisdom' grant
"Defining Wisdom," a project of The University of Chicago across multiple disciplines, awarded Lauris Kaldjian, MD, PhD, in 2008 a grant to develop a framework for medical decision making.RNs moving into CR jobs must change their mindset
One ethical dilemma nurses face when they move from clinical care to clinical research (CR) is the way the two fields' missions are different with regard to patients.Strategies for training and supporting CR nurses
Clinical trial (CT) sites should be providing research nurses and other staff with the best possible foundation in clinical research ethics, as well as helping them make the transition from clinical care to research trials, experts say.AMA asks TJC for time on disruptive docs
The House of Delegates of the American Medical Association (AMA) in Chicago at its November 2008 meeting in Orlando voted to ask The Joint Commission for a moratorium on its disruptive physicians policy, introduced in July 2008 and scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2009. A decision on the matter was not reached prior to press time.Hospitals face difficulty in disaster preparation
A new study published Nov. 13 in the Chicago-based American Medical Association's (AMA) Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness journal found that consistent, evidence-based performance measurements are needed to accurately evaluate hospitals' ability to manage patient care during a disaster, the AMA says.Yale Law professor and physician Jay Katz dies
Yale Law School professor and physician Jay Katz, MD, died Nov. 17 at age 86, according to the school's web site.News From Abroad: UK ethicist remarks on dementia patients
United Kingdom's Baroness Mary Warnock, considered an expert on medical ethics, created a stir in late 2008 with her suggestion that those in the UK with dementia have a duty to die, so as not to strain public health resources.