Journal of medical ethics
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The teaching of ethics in UK medical schools has recently been reviewed, from the perspective of the teachers themselves. A questionnaire survey of medical undergraduates at King's College London School of Medicine provides useful insight into the students' perception of ethics education, what they consider to be the value of learning ethics and law, and how engaged they feel with the subject.
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Journal of medical ethics · Jun 2007
Views regarding the training of ethics consultants: a survey of physicians caring for patients in ICU.
Despite the expansion of ethics consultation services, questions remain about the aims of clinical ethics consultation, its methods and the expertise of those who provide such services. ⋯ Although many physicians caring for patients in ICU believe ethics consultants must possess non-medical expertise in ethics and law if they are to contribute effectively to patient care, these physicians place a very high value on medical training as well, suggesting a "medicine plus one" view of the training of an ideal ethics consultant. As ethics consultation services expand, clear expectations regarding the training of ethics consultants should be established.
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Journal of medical ethics · May 2007
Characteristics of deaths occurring in hospitalised children: changing trends.
Despite a gradual shift in the focus of medical care among terminally ill patients to a palliative model, studies suggest that many children with life-limiting chronic illnesses continue to die in hospital after prolonged periods of inpatient admission and mechanical ventilation. ⋯ A greater proportion of hospitalised children are dying in an ICU environment. Our experience indicates that professional ethical guidance by itself may be inadequate in reversing the trends observed in this study.
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Journal of medical ethics · May 2007
A qualitative study of institutional review board members' experience reviewing research proposals using emergency exception from informed consent.
Emergency exception to informed consent regulation was introduced to provide a venue to perform research on subjects in emergency situations before obtaining informed consent. For a study to proceed, institutional review boards (IRBs) need to determine if the regulations have been met. ⋯ This preliminary study suggests that IRB members find emergency exception to informed consent studies take longer to review than other protocols, and that community consultation and community notification are the most difficult aspect of the regulations with which to comply but that they adequately protect human subjects.
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Journal of medical ethics · May 2007
Do-not-resuscitate decision: the attitudes of medical and non-medical students.
To study the attitudes of both medical and non-medical students towards the do-not-resuscitate (DNR) decision in a university in Hong Kong, and the factors affecting their attitudes. ⋯ Students in medical and non-medical fields held different views on DNR. A majority of participants considered the patient's own wish as most important in DNR decisions. Family wishes were considered less important than the patient's own wishes.