This U.K. book is written by Faye Thompson, who has thirty years experience as a midwife and educator. She studied philosophy and the humanities as an undergraduate in Australia, and now lectures on health care ethics. As a feminist, she seeks to reunite morality and personal interest so that the woman is not subordinated in women's health and childbirth practices.
From this experience, she offers a framework of ethics specific to midwifery and derived from midwifery practice that takes ethical discourse beyond current literature, proposing strategies for ethical practice based on findings arising out of the profession itself.

Medicine and Money: A Study of the Role of Beneficence in Health Care Cost Containment is a frank discussion of the moral problems associated with the need to control health care costs. The book provides a base for physicians to address these concerns and examines the events leading to America's current health care crisis, diminishing beneficence. After a brief definition of the problem, Frank H. Marsh and Mark Yarborough continue by describing the threat of cost containment and justifying beneficence-based health care system. Special importance is given to Medicine and Money by the lengthy suggestions on implementing beneficence in the health care system. Marsh and Yarborough address the problem of eroding morality and rising cost concerns of our present health care system. They argue that if the central role of beneficence is abandoned, the medical profession will be unable to properly meet the challenge it faces. Medicine and Money divides its argument into two sections. In the first section, the current crisis in health care is examined and a justification for beneficence is given. The second section describes how beneficence can be implemented in the health care system as a means to control health care costs. Medicine and Money is written for every member of the medical and philosophical communities.

Improving human characteristics goes beyond compensating for an impairment. This book explores the rich and complex relationship between enhancement and impairment, showing that the study of disability offers new ways of thinking about the social and ethical implications of improving the human condition.

For over two decades, Bloch et al's Psychiatric Ethics has been the leading text on ethical issues in psychiatry and mental health. This anthology will serve as an invaluable companion volume, providing ready access to foundational writings, previously published articles and excerpts of book chapters of significance to psychiatric ethics.

This book follows two lines of inquiry in understanding nursing ethics in the historical-cultural context of modern China. Firstly, it scrutinizes the prescribed set of moral virtues for nurses in fulfilling their role requirements during different periods of nursing development over the past century. Based on empirical studies, the book, secondly, explores the nurses' evaluations of their ethical responsibilities in current practice. It carefully examines the particular viewpoints of nurses in their ethical appraisal of nursing practice and patient care situations. Drawing upon traditional ethical outlooks, international norms, and the experiences of nurses as they face difficult care situations, this book concludes with recommendations for improving the quality of nursing in contemporary China.

Adverse events in patients caused by medical management are a serious and grossly underreported public health problem. One patient in ten entering hospital will suffer an adverse event of impairment, disability or death. This book is a major comprehensive examination of the incidence and causes of adverse events. Using data obtained from hospitals within the United Kingdom, United States and other developed countries, it examines the risk factors leading to errors, the human and financial costs, and the scope to reduce errors. In particular, it focuses on the need for a critical reappraisal of undergraduate teaching and clinical tuition. All healthcare professionals throughout primary and secondary care, including clinicians, managers and policy makers, and patient and carer groups, can benefit from reading this book. It identifies possible solutions and how adverse events and medication errors can be reduced, resulting in improved patient care.

How did today's debate over euthanasia (taken from the Greek word for 'good death') become so divisive in American society? In A Merciful End Ian Dowbiggin tells, for the first time, the dramatic story of those reformers who struggled throughout the twentieth century to change the nation's attitudes towards mercy killing and assisted suicide.l Having had access to confidential records in the United States, England and Canada, and having interviewed leading figures in the American euthanasia movement, he reveals that euthanasia has been a contentious issue in America for over a century, long before Jack Kevorkian began helping patients to die. Over the course of the twentieth century, a group of public-spirited men and women tried to break down ancient Judeo-Christian prohibitions against mercy killing, overturn state laws criminalizing assisted suicide, and convince the US Supreme Court that there is a right to die in the Constitution. In their eagerness to succeed, these euthanasia advocates have often sanctioned public policies that blur the fine line between choice and duty, freedom and coercion, the rights of the individual and the needs of society. By the dawn of the twenty-first century, they had won some small victories, and the debate over whose lives were worth living still raged, but Dowbiggin argues that more and more Americans seemed to prefer better end-of-life care to sweeping changes in laws about euthanasia. America's euthanasia movement entered the twenty-first century ready and willing to fight new wars but facing an uphill battle against sentiments such as these.

Original, wide-ranging in scope, but sensitive to the personal dimensions of euthanasia, A Merciful End is an illuminating and cautionary account of the tension between motives and methods within twentieth century social reform. It provides a refreshingly new perspective on an old debate.

Contemporary Dutch policy and legislation facilitate the use of high quality, accessible and affordable assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) to all citizens in need of them, while at the same time setting some strict boundaries on their use in daily clinical practices. Through the ethnographic study of a single clinic in this national context, Patient-Centred IVF examines how this particular form of medicine, aiming to empower its patients, co-shapes the experiences, views and decisions of those using these technologies. Gerrits contends that to understand the use of reproductive technologies in practice and the complexity of processes of medicalization, we need to go beyond 'easy assumptions' about the hegemony of biomedicine and the expected impact of patient-centredness.

Nursing staff of many specialities are taking on and developing their roles in new and advanced practice areas. Patients will be offered new services from highly skilled advanced nurse practitioners. Such nurses need guidance, direction and information to assist them in their new roles. This book will offer insight and guidance on a variety of issues that are likely to be encountered by the Nurse Practitioner in everyday practice. * *First book presenting ethical challenges at Nurse Practitioner level * * * Aims to guide practice and offer points for discussion and reflective thinking

In post-World War II America and especially during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s, the psychologist Rollo May contributed profoundly to the popular and professional response to a widely felt sense of personal emptiness amid a culture in crisis. May addressed the sources of depression, powerlessness, and conformity but also mapped a path to restore authentic individuality, intimacy, creativity, and community. A psychotherapist by trade, he employed theology, philosophy, literature, and the arts to answer a central enduring question: "How, then, shall we live?" Robert Abzug's definitive biography traces May's epic life from humble origins in the Protestant heartland of the Midwest to his longtime practice in New York City and his participation in the therapeutic culture of California. May's books-Love and Will, Man's Search for Himself, The Courage to Create, and others-as well as his championing of non-medical therapeutic practice and introduction of Existential psychotherapy to America marked important contributions to the profession. Most of all, May's compelling prose reached millions of readers from all walks of life, finding their place, as Noah Adams noted in his NPR eulogy, "on a hippy's bookshelf." And May was one of the founders of the humanistic psychology movement that has shaped the very vocabulary with which many Americans describe their emotional and spiritual lives. Based on full and uncensored access to May's papers and original oral interviews, Psyche and Soul in America reveals his turbulent inner life, his religious crises, and their influence on his contribution to the world of psychotherapy and the culture beyond. It adds new and intimate dimensions to an important aspect of America's romance with therapy, as the site for the exploration of spiritual strivings and moral dilemmas unmet for many by traditional religion.

Bioethical and medical issues are among the most important concerns facing society today. Yet many of these contemporary debates have been anticipated and addressed in literary works. Designed to meet the needs of high school students, as well as college students or those in the health care field, this reference defines and situates major bioethical and medical issues in accessible literature ranging from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) to Margaret Edson's Wit (1999). Included are discussions of such topics as cloning, bioterrorism, organ transplants, genetics, obesity and heart disease, AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases, and civil rights. Chapters are devoted to broad categories, with each chapter discussing two major literary works. Tremendous advances in science and technology have made bioethical and medical issues central to contemporary philosophical debates. Many of these modern concerns have been anticipated and addressed to varying degrees in numerous literary works. Designed to meet the needs of high school students and teachers, pre-med and other college students, as well as any one in or entering a health care profession, this reference, a valuable addition to academic and public libraries, discusses literature as a means of approaching medical and bioethical issues. Chapters look at such broad topics as technology's creature, illness and culture, and end of life issues, with each chapter offering a close examination of two major literary works. Special features include a chronology of events in literature, medicine, and science; a glossary of literary, medical, and scientific terms; and lists of movies, Web sites, books and journals, and teaching methods.

"There is hardly a reason to circumcise a little boy for medical reasons because those medical reasons don't exist," said Dr. Michael Wilks, Head of Ethics at the British Medical Association, who admitted that doctors have circumcised boys for "no good reason."

In the United States, parts of Africa, the Middle East, and in the Muslim world, 13.3 million infant boys and 2 million girls have part or all of their external sex organs cut off for reasons that defy logic and violate basic human rights. Doctors, parents, and politicians have been misled into thinking that circumcision is beneficial, necessary, and harmless.

In Circumcision and human rights, internationally respected experts in the fields of medicine, science, politics, law, ethics, sociology, anthropology, history, and religion present the latest research on this tragedy, as a part of the worldwide campaign to end sexual mutilation. They outline steps for eradicating this abusive practice to enable males and females the dignity of living out their lives with all the body parts with which they were born.

Ethics and Law in Modern Medicine is a unique book that explores the field of medical ethics and health care decision-making through hypothetical case studies. The truly unique feature of this volume is that each chapter sets forth a hypothetical fact pattern which includes role assignments to encourage participants to actively take part in group discussions and debate the controversial and cutting-edge topics that are presented. Each chapter includes in-depth discussion questions which thoroughly explore issues raised by the hypothetical fact patterns, and suggested readings provide background for participants. Additionally, the volume contains excerpts from key statutes and case law which govern the decision-making process presented in each chapter. The volume covers a wide variety of issues including HIV, the health care rights of minors, consent and confidentiality, assisted reproductive technology, property rights in bodily organs, research ethics, religious freedom and the right to refuse care, rationing of scarce resources, surrogate decision-making, and several other traditional as well as unique ethical, legal, and social issues.

First published in 1957, with a slight update in 1964, this classic text remains one of the standard works on the doctor patient relationship (largely as found in general practice). This new edition provides an updated descriptive analysis of the doctor-patient relationship, with practical advice on the potential and limits to the doctors involvement with the patient.A new Foreword by the authors son placing his fathers work in the context of the new millenium. Across the world there are thousands of Balint groups/societies that have a growing number of members keen to read the work of their founding fatherForeword by the original authors son.

Preventive Medicine between Obligation and Aspiration is a study of ethical questions regarding mass screening, vaccination, and health policy programmes. These interventions aim to enhance public health but may also constrain personal autonomy and cause harm, and influence our moral views. So far, these issues have hardly been subject to systematic ethical analysis. This study aims to fill this gap by providing an overview of moral problems in preventive medicine and by explicating norms for good practice. Throughout the book it is argued that some moral concerns about prevention - namely concerns about medicalization - cannot be adequately grasped in terms of strict and binding moral norms. Various moral concepts and types of norms beyond obligation' are explored and developed in order to give practical meaning to these rather vague concerns. In this way the book contributes to applied ethics as well as to ethical theory. It is of interest to professionals in public health and preventive medicine and to scholars in applied ethics and moral philosophy.

Transhumanists advocate for the development and distribution of technologies that will enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities, even eliminate aging. What if the dystopian futures and transhumanist utopias found in the pages of science journals, Margaret Atwood novels, films like "Gattaca," and television shows like "Dark Angel" are realized? What kind of world would humans have created?

Maxwell J. Mehlman considers the promises and perils of using genetic engineering in an effort to direct the future course of human evolution. He addresses scientific and ethical issues without choosing sides in the dispute between transhumanists and their challengers. However, "Transhumanist Dreams and Dystopian Nightmares" reveals that radical forms of genetic engineering could become a reality much sooner than many people think, and that we need to encourage risk-management efforts.

Whether scientists are dubious or optimistic about the prospects for directed evolution, they tend to agree on two things. First, however long it takes to perfect the necessary technology, it is inevitable that humans will attempt to control their evolutionary future, and second, in the process of learning how to direct evolution, we are bound to make mistakes. Our responsibility is to learn how to balance innovation with caution.

Patient autonomy is a much discussed and debated subject in medical ethics, as well as in healthcare practice, medical law, and healthcare policy. This book provides a detailed and nuanced analysis of both the concept of autonomy and the principle of respect for autonomy, in an accessible style. The unique feature of this book is that it combines empirical research into hospital practice with thorough philosophical analyses. As such, it is an example of a new movement in applied ethics, that of 'empirical ethics'.

The key themes are informed consent and medical decision making, personal well-being, competence, paternalism and decision making for incompetent patients. Much attention is also devoted to autonomy in non-decision making situations - patient control over small everyday aspects of care, authenticity and existential aspects of illness, autonomy and the 'ethics of care', and the relationship between autonomy and trust in the physician-patient relationship.

This book will be of interest to those working or studying in the field of medical ethics and applied ethics but also to healthcare professionals and health policy makers.

"Looking Beneath the Surface" explores Arab-Islamic and Western perspectives on medical ethical issues: genetic research and treatment, abortion, organ donation, and palliative sedation and euthanasia. The contributions in this volume discuss the state of the (medical) art, the role of laws, counseling, and spiritual counseling in the decision-making process. The different approaches to the ethical issues, ways of moral reasoning, become clear in these contributions, especially the role of tradition for Islam and the importance of autonomy for the West. Beneath the differences, however, the reader will also discover common values, such as the role of dignity and the value of life, and similar practices. Some of the main differences are sociocultural in nature, rather than religious as such. Well-known experts in the fields of medicine and ethics have contributed to this volume from different religious and secular backgrounds. The book offers a carefully written introduction and final chapter on intercultural comparisons. "Looking Beneath the Surface" is more than a collection of writings on issues in medical ethics: it helps the reader to compare different paradigms of accountability and moral reasoning.

Leading physicians and scientists from around the world critically examine the pharmacological and molecular basis of the therapeutic properties of marihuana and its active ingredient, THC. They detail the broad array of marihuana's effects on brain function, the immune system, male and female reproductive functions, and cardiac and pulmonary functions, as well as evaluate its clinical applications in psychiatry, glaucoma, pain management, cancer chemotherapy, and AIDS treatment. Their studies indicate that marihuana persistently impairs the brain and reproductive function, and that marihuana smoke is more toxic and damaging to the lung than tobacco smoke. Marihuana and Medicine's reports of the latest findings on the pharmacological and molecular mechanisms of marihuana and of its clinical manifestations will be essential reading for physicians, psychiatrists, pharmacologists, health-care professionals, policy makers, public health officials, and attorneys.

Andrew Thompson, Norman J. Temple We humans are an extraordinary species. One of our finest achievements is the development of morality, of a sense of right and wrong. We articulate and then impose this sensitivity upon ourselves in the form of ethical guidelines, rules, regulations, and laws. We have, regrettably, also developed marvelously clever ways of justifying our behavior whenever it runs afoul of these prescriptions. We have, for example, developed the concept of objectivity to guide scientific pursuits and subsequently established rights which undermine the possibility of ever coming close to attaining the goal of being objective -- rights which entitle participating scientists to gain personal, tangible profits from scientific discoveries. Formerly, we envisaged gods who kept us in place, who reminded us that we were not all-powerful or especially wise. Now we tend to worship our achievements, especially our technological ones, and ourselves. Mary Midgley' aptly names this phenomenon, "humanolatry." We have lost our respect for nature in our enthusiasm for changing it to that which suits our shortsighted ends. We must, as she says, "unlearn" this way of thinking.

The lack of trust in our healthcare system brings ominous results, from decreasing health outcomes to increasing costs, from organization inefficiencies to a pervasive pattern of litigation. This will only worsen as healthcare becomes subject to greater market mechanisms, and as patients, providers, and payers view each other with increasing suspicion. Healthcare professionals are just now coming to realize what other professionals have known for years: trust is earned, not assumed. The Trust Crisis represents the first comprehensive survey of the causes and consequences of declining trust in healthcare, and more importantly, it provides suggestions for restoring that trust.
Editor David A. Shore, founder of the Harvard School of Public Health's Trust Initiative, brings together an unparalleled collection of healthcare leaders for this volume. Chapter authors include Donald Berwick, Robert Blendon, Lucian Leape, and George Lundberg. The book also features an introduction by Cokie and Steve Roberts. Causes, consequences, and cures for the crisis in trust are specifically addressed. Critical areas treated by the authors include:
- systemic conditions that lead to medical errors, and remedies for promoting quality of care.
- outdated modes of doctor-patient communication that hinder compliance.
- novel modes of interaction to improve satisfaction. - patient-centered care and metrics to evaluate its presence or absence.
- media communication and miscommunication, and new standards for medical reporting.
- clinical insights applied to the use of human subjects in biomedical research.
- recommendations for revising medical school curricula and strengthening thepeer-review process in medical journals.
- practical strategies for decreasing the lingering discord between patients, providers, and health plans.
While presenting a diversity of topics and opinions, the authors of this volume agree upon a few principles. The trust famine will have dire consequences if it continues unchecked. Healthcare leaders can take measures to improve trust. Regaining trust requires that entire organizations pay closer attention to the "human factors" of healthcare. And perhaps most critical for change, trust-building is not only good medicine, but good business as well.

The special relationship of trust and openness between doctor and patient has been vital for centuries. But, under the guise of providing affordable healthcare, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) threaten not only quality but the essential doctor/patient bond as well.
Government and corporate intervention has turned medicine into big business where the patient is viewed as a source of cash flow rather than as a human being. Mismanaged Care exposes this new age of HMO doctoring for what it is: a rush to profit rather than a concern for patient's needs; a cost-versus-quality machine that emphasizes the bottom line, while patients become the victims of a corporate mentality that favors assembly-line treatment standards.
With more than thirty years experience in medicine, Dr. Makover argues eloquently and authoritatively for a return to the professionalism that puts patients' needs first. He calls for the healthcare debate to be stripped from the hands of politicians, businessmen, insurance providers, and lawyers, and given back to patients and independent, self-employed doctors. He closely examines facts and fallacies, and the pros and cons of managed care, and suggests better ways to finance healthcare.

Medicine in the United States is big business. We spend 50 percent more on health care per capita than other developed countries, but a multitude of measures indicate that we are not getting health-care value for our money. In Too Big to Succeed, author Dr. Russell J. Andrews details why health care in America has become more expensive but less effective and outlines a new paradigm for health-care delivery.

Too Big to Succeed describes how American medicine is on an unsustainable course: costs are increasing while benefits are deteriorating in comparison with other developed nations. Beginning with the Hippocratic Oath and the the premedical student, Andrews traces the myriad ways in which the profit motive has infiltrated American medicine--including medical school training, current models of health-care delivery, medical professional societies, medical research, and medical drug and device development.

Presenting an insider's look into the current crisis in health care, Andrews demonstrates that until both the physician and the patient return to the relationship that underlies medicine, physicians will not experience the joy of healing those who seek their help and patients will not appreciate that a good physician is a permanent part of their lives.