By Jake Greenblum and Ryan Hubbard We recently offered a reply to criticisms of our view that physicians should refrain from deliberating with their patients on religious grounds when helping them make medical decisions. Part of what prompted our research into this topic is recent work discussing appropriate ways of communicating with religious patients who […]
Category: Professionalism
Why we should still accommodate conscientious objection for abortion
By Bruce P. Blackshaw and Daniel Rodger. Over the last few years there has been a vigorous and fascinating debate about the use of conscientious objection (CO) in healthcare. CO is when doctors (and other healthcare professionals) opt-out of providing a medical service because they have serious moral objections—abortion is a widely cited example. If […]
Moral exploitation and junior doctors
By Joshua Parker. Medicine’s power to affect human well-being explains why the nature of doctors’ practice is deeply moral. With almost every medical decision having some moral component, doctors’ work carries a number of moral burdens. Aside from the decision-making itself, which of course can be very difficult and the risk of error consequential, there […]
The Consequences of Doctors’ (Mis)trust
By Joshua Parker. Working as a junior doctor provides unique insights into other doctors’ reasoning. Being inexperienced and perhaps a little unconfident means junior doctors rely on their seniors for advice. Often I will see a patient and hit a dead end in terms of what to do next. This is where I approach a […]
Well That’s Something Worth Dissecting
By Natalie Cohen It was my first day of anatomy class. Dressed in hand-me-down scrubs covered by a blue smock that still smelled of its packaging, I opened the laboratory double doors and began my long walk towards table one, with each step I passed by lab tables with white plastic sheets covering what I […]
Physician Autonomy
By Stephen McAndrew. Traditionally, physicians worked in practices owned and operated by physicians as this was thought to ensure that physician judgment concerning patient treatment was not affected by outside non-medical factors. This meant that physicians were seen as autonomous professionals using their education and skill in medical science to treat patients. Increasingly physicians work […]
When should a doctor’s behaviour be criminal?
By Suzanne Ost Two recent, controversial cases involving doctors and the criminal law have caught my attention because they could challenge our perceptions about when it is appropriate to criminalise doctors’ behaviour. We use the criminal law to hold people to account when they commit the most serious wrongs. The State acts in the name […]
More on Conscientious Objection: a Repy to a Reply
Guest post by Divine Banyubala A couple of days ago, Iain raised an interesting question about the draft Conscientious Objection (Medical Activities) Bill, and its compatibility with existing law (both civil and criminal) in respect of withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. In an insightful reply, Mary Neal made the points that “in key areas of practice […]
Conscientious Objection: A Quick(ish) Answer
Guest post by Mary Neal, Law School, University of Strathclyde The Conscientious Objection (Medical Activities) [HL] Bill, introduced by the crossbench peer Baroness O’Loan, received its second reading in the House of Lords on Friday 26th January and successfully proceeded to the committee stage. In a post on this blog the following day, Iain posed […]
There’s a New Declaration of Geneva!
By Iain Brassington Contain your excitement if you can… The World Medical Association has issued its latest version of the Declaration of Geneva. (h/t to Mark Rapa for bringing this to my attention.) This is apparently something that it does every decade, tinkering with phrasing as it sees fit. So, then: what does it say? Well, […]