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Ethics in the trenches: preparing for ethical challenges in the emergency department

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2015

Merril Pauls ,
Connie LeBlanc  and
Sam Campbell
Merril Pauls*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Dalhousie University and Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, NS Department of Bioethics, Dalhousie University
Connie LeBlanc
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Dalhousie University and Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, NS
Sam Campbell
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Dalhousie University and Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, NS
*
Department of Emergency Medicine, Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, Halifax Infirmary, Room 3-021, 1796 Summer St., Halifax NS B3H 3A7; fax 902 473-3617; [email protected]

Abstract

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Ethical issues can be more difficult to address in the emergency department than in other settings. We present two cases, with the goal of stimulating moral reflection and encouraging emergency physicians to gain a better understanding of two important ethical issues: advance directives and resource allocation decisions.

Understanding the legal and ethical basis for advance directives allows emergency physicians to determine when the directives should be followed and when they should be questioned. Resource allocation decisions are among the toughest decisions emergency physicians make. Although patients or substitute decision-makers define the value of a treatment goal, emergency physicians must ensure that this goal does indeed represent the patient’s wishes, that it is achievable, and that competing claims for the same resource are considered.

Learning from others’ experiences and preparing for ethical problems in advance will help physicians feel more comfortable in dealing with ethical issues.

Keywords

bioethicsemergency medicineadvance directiveresource allocation
Type
Controversies • Controverses
Information
Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , January 2002 , pp. 45 - 48
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians 2002

References

Further reading

Case 1

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