Medical Ethics For Dummies

In your career as a medical professional, you'll be responsible for convincing patients and their family members of the best course of action and treatment to follow. Packed with helpful information, this hands-on, friendly guide arms you with the knowledge you need to make the best ethical decisions in various situations — quickly and confidently.

• Medical ethics 101 — discover how to protect your patients' privacy, how to communicate with them, and your obligation to uphold their rights

• Respect your patients' wishes — find out how to work with patients who refuse medical care, disagree with your opinion, or have personal beliefs that limit the medical treatment they are willing to receive

• The circle of life — get guidance on how to apply medical ethics to topics such as abortion, parental involvement with minors, assisted reproduction, end-of-life care, and euthanasia

• Advancing medical knowledge — see what it takes to conduct ethical clinical research on animals and humans, what is required to enroll patients in clinical trials, and the ethical implications that arise in stem cell and genetic research

Open the book and find:

• Principles that guide ethical medical decisions

• The distinctions and connections between ethics and morality

• Day-to-day ethical challenges in the life of a medical professional

• Information about managing your practice and working with other healthcare providers

• Advice for disclosing medical errors to patients and colleagues

• Tips for talking to patients about vaccination and organ donation

• High-profile ethics cases that have shaped the practice of medicine

Learn to:

• Guide patients and their families through treatment options and potential outcomes

• Quickly and confidently make the right moral and ethical choices

• Apply ethics to controversial issues