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Ethics
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Residents will be involved in decisions which
involve major ethical components every day of
their existence. Rationing of resources, the question
of duration of supportive care in terminal cases,
organ procurement and many other issues are an
integral part of neurosurgical life. These are
matters of immediate concern to the neurosurgical
resident.
A good guide is to remember that the final ethical
decision must be the result of concepts evolved
by a number of groups which include society as
represented by the peculiar ethnic group of the
patient and his family, the medical profession,
the institution which may or may not have additional
religious overtones and the personal value system
of the mature resident. Do not attempt to impose
your ethics on the patient. Respect the desires
of the patient and the family. Discuss these matters
fully with the attending staff.
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As a subject matter, ethics is now taught in the post-graduate training program in the Division of Neurosurgery during the block curriculum. Residents are instructed on ethical issues in medicine and neurosurgery by Dr Mark Bernstein, Neurosurgeon at the Toronto Western Hospital, and member of the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto. Some of the topics on which the residents learn during their ethics lectures in neurosurgery include: Informed consent, end of life issues, resource allocation, error and patient safety, and physician competence. The outline for the curriculum for bioethics teaching for neurosurgery residents can be obtained by downloading the following word document:
Bernstein Link |
Introduction
