It was announced yesterday that both the Centre for Professional Ethics, and the philosophy programme at Keele, have been spared the axe. From Angus Dawson’s Facebook message: We are delighted to announce that due to substantial discussions over the last two days the proposals to close PEAK (the Centre for Professional Ethics at Keele University) […]
Month: March 2011
Medical Ethics at Keele to be Axed?
This was supposed to be embargoed, but there’ve been enough leaks to make me think I can go public with it: news has emerged today that the Centre for Professional Ethics at Keele (PEAK) is facing the axe, as is the Keele Philosophy programme. A Senate Paper detailing the proposed cuts is widely available, and people […]
A New Standard for Medics: Perfection
Lord knows why, but I keep going back to Secondhand Smoke, the pro-life, global-warmin’-denyin’, public-healthcare-hatin’, intelligent-design-lovin’, Daily-Mail-quotin’ blog written by Discovery Institute affiliated lawyer Wesley Smith. I try to stay away, but like a child peeping between his fingers while hiding his eyes, I’m just fascinated by it. A recent post concerns a Kiwi woman […]
Placentophagy, Human Milk, and the Yuck-Factor
There’s an interesting post over at Science-Based Medicine about the practice of placentophagy: that is, placenta-eating. The piece points out that, while some eat it raw, it can also be cooked; eating it raw provokes the yuck factor. Speaking personally, I’m not sure that it’s rawness makes all that much difference here – but maybe […]
INCB: Wrong on Drugs Policy
It’s a while since I’ve said anything about drug policy, but a story in the BMJ a couple of weeks ago caught my eye. It would appear that the International Narcotics Control Board, a UN agency, has issued a report in which it advocates the prohibition of whole classes of substance: National governments need to […]
MSF Dilemma # 4: Acting Beyond Competence
This is the fourth of the dilemmas considered here. Our doctor has previously assisted in caesarean sections but has never taken sole responsibility for one. The doctor who is responsible for surgery is on holiday and transport to the next surgical facility takes 7 h, which is too long for this mother who is clearly in obstructed […]
MSF Dilemma # 3: Re-Infibulation
This is the third of the dilemmas considered here. To allow childbirth, it is necessary to surgically open an infibulation. After delivery, women (and their husbands) ask for restoration of the infibulation (re-infibulation), which involves re-suturing. MSF opposes re-infibulation and works to ensure that it is not undertaken in its delivery facilities. Although MSF opposes this practice, […]
MSF Dilemma # 2: Sterile Equipment
This is the second of the dilemmas considered here. MSF teams have faced situations where a nurse who is part of the community, who understands the importance of sterile procedures, asks to use MSF’s sterile equipment to perform FGM. MSF is often the only source of sterile equipment in the area and the team has […]
MSF Dilemma # 1: HIV and Stigmatisation
This is the first of the dilemmas considered here: The stigma around HIV can be high. A diagnosis can lead to rejection by family and community, and in some instances, a person suspected to be HIV-positive may even be killed. Where MSF is not running a programme offering antiretroviral therapy or where referral is impossible, […]
New JME, New Threads
The editor’s choice paper in the latest JME is Sheather and Shah’s “Ethical Dilemmas in Medical Humanitarian Practice: Cases for reflection from Medecins Sans Frontières”. Because it’s the editors’ choice, you should be able to access it for free. The paper outlines four moral dilemmas, each presented with an ethicist’s response. Over the next day or […]