Journal of medical ethics
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Journal of medical ethics · Apr 2008
Teaching medical ethics: what is the impact of role models? Some experiences from Swedish medical schools.
The goal of the present study was to elucidate what influences medical students' attitudes and interests in medical ethics. At the end of their first, fifth and last terms, 409 medical students from all six medical schools in Sweden participated in an attitude survey. ⋯ Physicians involved in the education of medical students seem to teach medical ethics as role models even when ethics is not on the schedule. The low response rate prevents us from drawing definite conclusions, but the results could be used as hypotheses to be further scrutinised.
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The requirement of informed consent (IC) to medical treatments is almost invariably justified with appeal to patient autonomy. Indeed, it is common to assume that there is a conceptual link between the principle of respect for autonomy and the requirement of IC, as in the influential work of Beauchamp and Childress. ⋯ One consequence of this is that it is possible to exercise your autonomy without having the amount of and the kind of information that are assumed in the standard requirement of IC to medical treatments. In particular, I will argue that with a plausible conception of patient autonomy, the respect for and the promotion of patient autonomy are in certain circumstances better protected by giving patients the right to give their negatively informed consent to medical treatments.
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Journal of medical ethics · Mar 2008
Unconscious emotional reasoning and the therapeutic misconception.
The "therapeutic misconception" describes a process whereby research volunteers misinterpret the intentions of researchers and the nature of clinical research. This misinterpretation leads research volunteers to falsely attribute a therapeutic potential to clinical research, and compromises informed decision making, therefore compromising the ethical integrity of a clinical experiment. ⋯ The neurobiology of social cognition also suggests how the complicated dynamics of the doctor-patient relationship may unavoidably interfere with the process of obtaining informed consent. Following this argument we suggest new ways to prevent or at least mitigate the therapeutic misconception.
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Journal of medical ethics · Mar 2008
Dealing with requests for euthanasia: a qualitative study investigating the experience of general practitioners.
Caring for terminally ill patients is a meaningful task, however the patient's suffering can be a considerable burden and cause of frustration. ⋯ Dealing with requests for euthanasia is very challenging for GPs, although they feel committed to alleviate a patient's suffering and to promote a peaceful death.