Surgical Ethics / Edition 1

by Laurence B. McCullough, James W. Jones, Baruch A. Brody

Overview

The first textbook on the subject, this is a practical, clinically comprehensive guide to ethical issues in surgical practice, research, and education written by some of the most prominent figures in the fields of surgery and bioethics. Discussions of informed consent, confidentiality, and advance directives—core concepts integral to every surgeon-patient relationship—open the volume. Seven chapters tackle the ethical issues in surgical practice, covering the full range of surgical patients—from emergency, acute, high-risk, and elective patients, to poor surgical risk and dying patients. The book even considers the special relationship between the surgeon and patients who are family members or friends.
Chapters on surgical research and education address innovation, self-regulation in practice and research, and the prevention of unwarranted bias. Two chapters focus on the multidisciplinary nature of surgery, including the relationships between surgery and other medical specialties and the obligations of the surgeon to other members of the surgical team. The economic dimensions of surgery, especially within managed care, are addressed in chapters on the surgeons financial relationships with patients, conflicts of interest, and relationships with payers and institutions. The authors do not engage in abstract discussions of ethical theory; instead, their discussions are always directly relevant to the everyday concerns of practicing surgeons. This well-integrated volume is intended for practicing surgeons, medical educators, surgical residents, bioethicists, and medical students.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195103472
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/02/1998
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.43(w) x 9.51(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Laurence B. McCullough, Ph.D., is Professor of Medicine, Community Medicine and Medical Ethics at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX. He is also the author, with Frank A. Chervenak, of Ethics in Obstetrics and Gynecology (OUP, 1994).
James W. Jones, M.D., Ph.D., is Professor of Surgery, Cell Biology and Medical Ethics at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX. He is also Chief of Surgical Service at the Houston Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
Baruch A. Brody, Ph.D., is the Leon Jaworski Professor of Biomedical Ethics and Director of the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine. He is also Professor of Philosophy at Rice University. His previous books include Life and Death Decision Making (OUP, 1988) and Ethical Issues in Drug Testing, Approval, and Pricing (OUP, 1995).

Table of Contents

Foreword, Paul A. Ebert (American College of Surgeons, Chicago)Preface1. Principles and Practice of Surgical Ethics, Laurence B. McCullough, James W. Jones, and Baruch A. Brody (all at Baylor College of Medicine)2. Informed Consent: Autonomous Decision Making of the Surgical Patient, Laurence B. McCullough, James W. Jones, and Baruch A. Brody3. Confidentiality in Surgical Practice, Mary Faith Marshall and C.D. Smith, III (both at Medical University of South Carolina)4. Advance Directives and the Determination of Death, Stuart J. Younger and Jerry M. Shuck (both at Case Western Reserve)5. Emergency Patients: Serious Moral Choices, with Limited Time, Information, and Patient Participation, Kenneth L. Mattox and H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr. (both at Baylor College of Medicine)6. The Acute, High-Risk Patient: The Case of Transplantation, Robert M. Arnold (University of Pittsburgh), Byers W. Shaw (University of Nebraska), and Ruth Purtilo (Creighton University)7. Acute Yet Non-Emergent Patients, Jeremy Sugarman and Robert Harland (both at Duke University)8. Elective Patients, Andrew Lustig and Peter Scardino (both at Baylor College of Medicine)9. The Poor Surgical Risk Patient, Amir Halevy and John C. Baldwin (both at Baylor College of Medicine)10. Care of the Dying Patient, Stephen Wear, Robert Milch (both at SUNY, Buffalo), and W. Lynn Weaver (Morehouse School of Medicine)11. Patients Who are Family Members, Friends, Colleagues, Family Members of Colleagues, Jonathan D. Moreno (University of Virginia) and Frank E. Lucente (SUNY Health Sciences Center, Brooklyn)12. Research and Innovation in Surgery, Joel E. Frader (Northwestern University) and Donna A. Caniano (Ohio State University)13. Preventing and Managing Unwarranted Biases against Patients, Loretta M. Kopelman, Donald R. Lannin, and Arthur E. Kopelman (all at East Carolina University)14. Self-Regulation of Surgical Practice and Research, R. Scott Jones (both at University of Virginia) and John C. Fletcher15. Surgery and Other Medical Specialties, Nancy S. Jecker and Margaret D. Allen (both at University of Washington)16. Obligations of Surgeons to Non-Physician Team Members and Trainees, Ruth Purtilo (Creighton University), W. Byers Shaw (University of Nebraska) Robert Arnold (University of Pittsburgh)17. Financial Relationships with Patients, Kenneth V. Iserson and Bruce E. Jarrell (both at University of Arizona)18. Understanding, Assessing, and Managing Conflicts of Interest, George Khushf and Robert Gifford (both at University of South Carolina)19. Relationships with Payers and Institutions that Manage and Deliver Patient Services, Kevin Wm. Wildes and Robert B. Wallace (both at Georgetown University)

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Jeremiah G. Turcotte, MD (University of Michigan Medical School)
Description: This is the first textbook devoted exclusively to ethical issues in surgery, and it provides a pragmatic clinical guide to this subject for all members of the surgical health care team. The three editors, including one surgeon, are authorities on medical ethics. Each of the 19 chapters is co-authored by a clinician and a bioethicist. The contributors are 40 distinguished faculty members from medical schools throughout the United States.
Purpose: The purpose is to help the surgical team "chart the shifting terrain of surgical ethics so that they can conduct themselves in a morally responsible fashion in patient care, surgical research, and surgical education." The book pursues these important objectives with a brief overview of the principles of medical ethics followed by chapters on a diverse range of ethical scenarios encountered in surgical practice.
Audience: The target audience is surgeons, educators, residents, fellows, medical students, and bioethicists. This book would be appropriate for all members of the surgical health care team.
Features: The editors and contributors present their own views on contemporary ethical issues. Topics include informed consent; confidentiality; advanced directives; care of emergency, high risk, elective, and dying patients; research; and financial relationships with patients, institutions, and managed care. The chapter on physician self regulation is classic. A limited list of references follows each chapter.
Assessment: This excellent, much-needed book serves as a review and a convenient single-source reference to most contemporary ethical issues in surgery. The book would be a valuable addition to the personal libraries of the surgical healthcare team as well as medical school and hospital libraries.

Doody's Review Service

4 Stars! from Doody

This is the first textbook devoted exclusively to ethical issues in surgery, and it provides a pragmatic clinical guide to this subject for all members of the surgical health care team. The three editors, including one surgeon, are authorities on medical ethics. Each of the 19 chapters is co-authored by a clinician and a bioethicist. The contributors are 40 distinguished faculty members from medical schools throughout the United States. The purpose is to help the surgical team ""chart the shifting terrain of surgical ethics so that they can conduct themselves in a morally responsible fashion in patient care, surgical research, and surgical education."" The book pursues these important objectives with a brief overview of the principles of medical ethics followed by chapters on a diverse range of ethical scenarios encountered in surgical practice. The target audience is surgeons, educators, residents, fellows, medical students, and bioethicists. This book would be appropriate for all members of the surgical health care team. The editors and contributors present their own views on contemporary ethical issues. Topics include informed consent; confidentiality; advanced directives; care of emergency, high risk, elective, and dying patients; research; and financial relationships with patients, institutions, and managed care. The chapter on physician self regulation is classic. A limited list of references follows each chapter. This excellent, much-needed book serves as a review and a convenient single-source reference to most contemporary ethical issues in surgery. The book would be a valuable addition to the personal libraries of the surgical healthcare team as well as medical schooland hospital libraries.

Jeremiah G. Turcotte

This book takes a fresh look at ethical issues from the surgeon's point of view. It merits the attention of anyone with an interest in the ethical problems surgeons face every day.

New England Journal of Medicine