Tag: medical ethics

Sam Armstrong Sam Armstrong (1 Posts)

Contributing Writer Emeritus

Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine

Sam is a Class of 2015 DO student at NSUCOM. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2007 with a BS in biological sciences.




Who Counts, Who Doesn’t: Human Value, Reproductive Freedom and the Abortion-on-Demand Debate

Published by Sam Armstrong

Introduction What makes us human? This question may strike you as simplistic, after all, our membership in the species Homo sapiens is the obvious answer, or you may interpret the question more abstractly to mean: What is the essence of being human? It is the latter sense of this question that is of particular importance to us as physicians-in-training. Now, I am sure you are wondering what this seemingly esoteric question has to do with anything practical. …

Organ Donation: To Opt In Or Opt Out

Published by Ryan Denu

Organ shortage is a serious problem in the United States. About 20,000 organ transplants occur every year in the U.S., and 116,689 Americans are currently on a waiting list for an organ, with kidneys being the most needed. The obesity epidemic is contributing to the shortage; a quarter of prospective donors are too obese to donate their kidneys. People typically wait 3-5 years for an organ, and thousands die every year (an average of 18 …

Gray Matter

Published by Samuel Jacobowitz

While watching one of my favorite television medical shows recently, I came across a line — uttered fast and so obviously not meant to draw attention — yet it had the opposite effect. I heard one of the attendings tell a resident or student, “Continue if you’d like.” I think my fixation is a bit more understandable if I set the scene: There was a trauma in the ER. A patient was carted in on a …

Should Medical Ethics be a Required Pre-medical Course?

Published by Lauren Schapiro

Once a month during my second year of graduate school, I attended the Ethics Committee Meetings of the University of Michigan Health System and listened to fascinating discussions about the ethical dilemmas and consults requested by various members of the healthcare staff. A member of the committee presented a case, and a discussion followed to reach a potential solution for the case at hand or for future similar cases. One such case comes to mind: …

Compassion: Diagnosis Disappointing, Prognosis Hopeful.

Published by C. J. Skok

As that white coat flutters down the corridors of the ward, clinic, or examination room, a feeling of hope emerges. The white coat, a ubiquitous symbol, has become synonymous with all the precepts that a doctor stands for. Trust, hope, and strength are all ideals that doctors strive to personify in their actions with not only patients, but also with their colleagues. By striving to actualize these precepts as a physician, one will lead a …

Researching Contested Illnesses: The Case of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)

Published by Jacob Walker

When describing a case of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), one needs look no further than Sue Jackson. Diagnosed in 2002, her symptoms (muscle pain, exhaustion, sleeplessness) are not unusual and her description of life with CFS could be straight out of medical literature. However, Sue also has the unique position of being the mother of two children with chronic fatigue syndrome. In her award-winning CFS blog, Sue chronicles her family’s battles with CFS, Lyme disease, school boards, and physicians alongside their collective triumphs.

Applied Bioethics: Marathoning and Medicine

Published by John Dougherty

Paternalism and medicine have a storied past that is difficult to grasp in the abstract. For me, the values of autonomy and beneficence were cemented on the day I ran my second marathon. After the first one, I remember being asked what the hardest part of the race was. “Every mile was harder than the last,” I replied. After that day I felt like I was in the best shape of my life, dampened only by having fallen nine minutes short of my goal. Resilient, I recovered for a week, trained for three and then raced again in the Indianapolis Monument Marathon.

John Dougherty John Dougherty (1 Posts)

Contributing Writer Emeritus

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

John Dougherty is a medical student at the Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois.