100 Cases in Clinical Ethics and Law Book

A 70-year-old woman bed-bound following a stroke has developed bronchopneumonia, but her daughter produces an advance directive that she says her mother has written, which states that no life-sustaining treatment is to be given. How are you going to proceed?
A practical guide on how to approach the legal and ethical dilemmas that frequently occur in hospital wards and medicine in the community, 100 Cases in Clinical Ethics and Law explores typical dilemmas through the use of 100 common medical scenarios. The book covers issues such as consent, capacity, withdrawal of treatment and confidentiality, as well as less-frequently examined problems like student involvement in internal examinations, whistle-blowing and the role of medical indemnity providers in complaints.
Each scenario has a practical problem-solving element to it and encourages readers to explore their own beliefs and values, including those that arise as a result of differing cultural and religious backgrounds. Answer pages highlight key points in each case and provide advice on how to deal with the emotive issues that occur when practicing medicine, at the same time providing information and guidance on appropriate behavior.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Aaliyah Eaves-Leanos, J.D.(Saint Louis University)
Description:This is a case-based, practical guide to aid medical students and junior level healthcare practitioners through the myriad of ethical dilemmas encountered everyday in the medical profession.
Purpose:The practice of contemporary medicine includes bioethical challenges at every turn. As a result, medical ethics has become a core competency in many healthcare education and training programs. Students are now required to move beyond merely assimilating facts to demonstrating their understanding and proficiency in resolving complex legal and ethical situations that occur during the treatment process. The authors' purpose is to demonstrate realistic case scenarios for novice practitioners in order to provide an opportunity to improve their understanding and analysis of pertinent legal cases, regulations, and ethical theories.
Audience:This is a basic introduction to the field of medical ethics from the clinical perspective and is particularly well suited for medical students, junior doctors, and medical ethics instructors. Anyone interested in developing case-based training tools may also find this book of interest.
Features:The authors rely on a consistent case-answer model. The initial cases provide a concise introductory review of the mainstream theories and methodologies used by healthcare ethicists. Thereafter, the authors group the cases into subject matter themes such as treatment refusal, consent, organ donation, and beginning and end of life issues. Each case example is followed by an answer which includes relevant legal statutes and authorities, along with a recapitulation of the correct ethical course of action.
Assessment:This is a well organized, direct, concise book that features key points in each topic, making it a good study supplement and reference. It does not provide in-depth information on the topics from either an ethical or legal standpoint and thus can only serve to augment a more robust medical ethics course. The usefulness of this book is in its ability to quickly enrich the inexperienced student's understanding of the practical application of medical ethics. Legal, social, and political issues that are distinct to the U.K. are clearly factored into the authors' conclusions, but these assumptions are not always explicitly explained. This can make understanding their conclusions somewhat difficult for readers not familiar with the U.K. system.