Online research in philosophy

The work related to medical ethics written by Polish authors are reviewed and some topics concerning teaching and various other activities in this field are presented. The attention is centered on the opinions and attitudes concerning the essence of medical profession and the personal model of the physician, doctor-patient relationship (including duties of the doctor), medical research on humans, abortion and other problems. The role of medico-ethical tradition in Poland is described. Main trends in polish ethical thought in relation to medicine are taken into consideration. General aspects of medical ethics in present-day Poland are tentatively characterized.

Since its formation in 1947, the World Medical Association (WMA) has been a leading voice in international medical ethics. The WMA’s principal ethics activity over the years has been policy development on a wide variety of issues in medical research, medical practice and health care delivery. With the establishment of a dedicated Ethics Unit in 2003, the WMA’s ethics activities have intensified in the areas of liaison, outreach and product development. Initial priorities for the Ethics Unit have been the review of paragraph 30 of the Declaration of Helsinki, the expansion of the Ethics Unit section of the WMA website and the development of an ethics manual for medical students everywhere.

The study of professional ethics has a long tradition in the Soviet Union; medical ethics is a code of conduct as well as an academic discipline. The paper discusses the ethical issues in intensive care, the definition of death, abortion, euthanasia, and the moral aspects of medical mistakes. Keywords: abortion, euthanasia, intensive care, medical mistakes, medical deontology, professional ethics, Marxism, socialism, USSR, bioethics CiteULike Connotea Del.icio.us What's this?

People who discuss medical ethics or bioethics come to very different conclusions about the levels of agreement in the field and the implications of consensus among health care professionals. In this paper I argue that these disagreements turn on a confusion of two distinct senses of medical ethics. I differentiate (1) medical ethics as a subject in applied ethics from (2) medical ethics as the professional moral commitments of health care professions. I then use the distinction to explain its significant implications for medical ethics education. Drawing on the recent work of John Rawls, I also show the centrality of philosophy in medical ethics by illustrating how contemporary philosophy can be used to construct an ethical framework for the medical professions.

This collection brings together original essays demonstrating the cutting edge of philosophical research in medical ethics. With contributions from a range of established and up-and-coming authors, it examines topics at the forefront of medical technology, such as ethical issues raised by developments in how we research stem cells and genetic engineering, as well as new questions raised by methodological changes in how we approach medical ethics.

This book is intended as a practical introduction to the ethical problems which doctors and other health professionals can expect to encounter in their practice. It is divided into three parts: ethical foundations, clinical ethics, and medicine and society. The authors incorporate new chapters on topics such as theories of medical ethics, cultural aspects of medicine, genetic dilemmas, aging, dementia and mortality, research ethics, justice and health care (including an examination of resource allocation), and medicine, ethics and medical law. Medical Ethics also covers issues having to do with the beginning and end of life, as well as ethical questions surrounding the human body and the use of human tissue, confidentiality and AIDS, care of the mentally ill, and the implications of genetic technology. Each chapter presents a range of ethical views, drawing both from traditional philosophy and the most recent contemporary trends. The theoretical discussion is extended and illustrated by case studies and examples. This book is a non-technical guide to ethics written with the needs of medical students and medical practitioners in mind. It will also appeal to students and practitioners of allied health professions, and for all users of health care services.