[Sent – 14 January 2019 to the 170+ surgeons et al of our Surgical Ethics (Education) Consortium]
Greetings from St. Louis and WashU. For my ‘Surgical Ethics Education Resources #11’ communication, I have inserted below a companion slide to the teaching slide I shared with you a few weeks ago from the set of a half-dozen slides I created for use in coaching hospital ethics committee members who conduct ethics consults. The challenge addressed in the earlier slide is to compress the essence of the ethical dimension of patient care into a crisp/accessible answer to the question – “What do I intend for this encounter?” -- by which physicians or surgeons can pause to reset their attention to the ethical dimension of patient care. The wording I recommend is -- "I intend to do what makes medical sense -- to the patient as well as to me -- in a fair and gentle manner that respects the values and goals of the patient".
The companion slide (below) reminds us that an ethically grounded/sound case is a partnership with the patient (or the patient's surrogate). In order for the centering intention of the physician or the surgeon to be realized (or at least approximated), the patient (or the patient's surrogate) must partner with the physician or the surgeon in specific ways -- i.e., (1) give honest and complete information, (2) cooperate with the management plan, (3) have feasible expectations, and (4) consider the interests of other patients.
I trust you can see in the previous slide and in this slide implicit references to the four landmarks of the ethical dimension of patient care -- i.e., non-maleficence, beneficence, self-determination, justice.
I am still searching for more efficient ways to represent the essence of the ethical dimension of patient care in concise yet deeply rooted wording. I will welcome learning about your attempts.
Doug
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