How surgeons describe procedures should be accurate, precise, and concordant with patients’ values. By focusing on intention rather than realistic goals, terms like curative and palliative, when applied to high-stakes operations, such as a Whipple pancreaticoduodenectomy, can be confusing to…
When a patient is diagnosed with an advanced head and neck cancer, a decision about whether to have surgery can dominate what remains of that patient’s life: prospective benefits can be limited, and complication risks can be high. Realizing dual…
Values, preferences, and goals all affect patient autonomy. Their meanings are often conflated, so this article clarifies them and also distinguishes between hope and wish. Ethical investigation of preoperative and postoperative clinician family communication in surgical intensive care units is…
Noncurative surgeries intended to relieve suffering during serious illness or near end of life have been analyzed across palliative settings. Yet sparse guidance is available to inform clinical management decisions about whether, when, and which interventions should be offered when…
Use of force in the care of patients with severe anorexia nervosa is controversial but can be justified when the disorder becomes life-threatening. However, even when forced treatment is ethically justified, care teams must navigate clinical and moral complexities, including…
This article focuses on uses of force in clinical settings after a triggering event a behavioral or medical crisis and considers how force should be implemented. The clinical stakes are high, as force can undermine therapeutic capacity in patient-clinician relationships,…
Responsibly determining whether and when to use potentially lifesaving force when caring for patients who are acutely mentally ill typically requires carefully applying 2 key ethical standards. First, short-term morbidity or mortality risk must be minimized. Second, potential long-term harm…
This activity is comprised of five multiple-choice questions based on the content of an AMA Journal of Ethics podcast on artificial intelligence risks for health care rise management. The podcast consists of an interview with John Banja, PhD, professor and…
In this video edition of Ethics Talk, journal editor in chief, Dr Audiey Kao, talks with Prof Debbie Kaminer about vaccine mandates and other policy solutions to promote herd immunity against COVID-19.
This activity is comprised of five multiple-choice questions based on the content of an AMA Journal of Ethics podcast on health care for Native American patients. The podcast consists of two interviews, one featuring president-elect of the Association of American…
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