Medical Ethics Advisor – May 1, 2018
May 1, 2018
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Controversy Persists as States, Courts ‘Question, Push Back, and Challenge’ Brain Death Criteria
Guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology were recently endorsed by several organizations as a medical standard for determining brain death, despite a controversial Nevada Supreme Court ruling that casts doubt on this stance.
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New Data Shed Light on Nurses’ Reasons for Applying to Clinical Ethics Residency
A clinical ethics residency for nurses met with strong demand at two academic medical centers.
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Report Sheds Light on Inner Workings of Hospital Ethics Committee
A recent report describes the structure and operation of the Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital ethics committee from 2007-2013.
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Patient Left No End-of-Life Wishes? Surrogates Need Ethicists’ Help
Surrogates face an increased burden if they’re unaware of patients’ end-of-life wishes, according to a growing body of research.
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Vast Majority of Patients Want to Be Informed of Overlapping Surgery
Overlapping surgery has been common for many years. Yet only 3.9% of the general public had any knowledge of the practice, found a recent study.
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Blacks and Whites, but Not Hispanics, Increasing Advance Directive Completion
Blacks and whites had longitudinal increased rates of advance directive completion, but the same was not true for Hispanics, a recent study found.
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Patient-reported Resuscitation Status Doesn’t Necessarily Match Clinicians’ Orders
Patient-reported and clinician-ordered resuscitation preferences were discordant in 20% of patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure, a recent study reports.
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Ethical Dilemma? Too Often, Chaplains Are Involved Last
Conscientious objection of providers, moral distress, patient adherence, and difficult or noncompliant patients all are situations where chaplains can be of help. Yet when healthcare teams are concerned about medical ethics dilemmas, chaplains often are the team members who are involved last.
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Disability Trajectories Give Insights on End of Life
Derived disability trajectories provide useful information about different facets of the end-of-life experience, found a recent study.