This book discusses medicine from an ethical perspective, whereas books on medical ethics more commonly present ethics from a bio-medical standpoint.The book is divided into 23 chapters. The introductory chapters present some basic concepts of medical ethics, such as the relation between the legal system and ethics, ethical documents, ethical theories, and ethical analysis. The following chapters address issues of importance in all fields of medicine: respecting autonomy, communication, relations within a healthcare team, professional malpractice, limited resources, and the portrait of a physician. In turn, the third part of the book focuses on ethical aspects in a broad range of medical activities - preventive medicine, human reproduction, genetics, pediatrics, intensive care, palliative medicine, clinical research, unproven methods in diagnostics and treatment, and the role of physicians who aren't directly responsible for patient care. The last part presents students' seminars with case stories.

The book offers a valuable resource for physicians of all specialties, students of medicine, professionals, and students from other fields devoted to human health, journalists, and general readers with an interest in medicine.

Autorentext

Matja Zwitter is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Ethics and Law at the University of Maribor, Slovenia, a Professor of Oncology and Radiotherapy at the Faculty of Medicine in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and a Senior Consultant Physician at the Institute of Oncology in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He has authored more than 45 papers included in the PubMed database and has co-edited two books: Communication with the cancer patient: information and truth (The New York Academy of Sciences, 1997) and New challenges in communication with the cancer patient (Springer, 2013).

In addition to his formal achievements and positions, his main qualification is 40 years of personal experience devoted to treating patients with cancer.

Inhalt

Preface.- Ethics and law.- Ethical codes and declarations.- Ethical theories.- Moral status.- Ethical analysis.- Autonomy and its limitations.- Communication.- Relations in the medical team.- Professional malpractice.- Limited resources, priorities, and corruption.- Image of a physician.- Preventive medicine.- Ethics at the beginning of life.- Pediatrics.- Genetics.- Emergency medicine and transplantation.- Elderly and psychiatric patients.- Dying and death.- Research.- Unproven methods of diagnostics and treatment.- Physicians beyond patient care.- Students' seminars