Ethics Talk

The Flint water crisis raised questions about the extent to which health care professionals considered environmental health to be part of their scope of practice – and whether clinicians were sufficiently attuned to the voices of residents. This month, we are joined by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, who describes how clinicians worked to expose the water crisis in Flint, and how health professions students can bridge the gap between individual and population health in their own work as clinicians. Then we talk with Dr. Camara Jones, who discusses clinicians' broader obligations to promote health equity and reduce health disparities, and how clinicians can combat systemic injustice in their own communities.

Clinicians have an ethical obligation to provide high-quality care to incarcerated and justice-involved patients, which means being knowledgeable and empathic about challenges these patients face. For a patient perspective, AMA Journal of Ethics editor Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux talks with Troy Williams about what it's like to seek medical care in a prison. We also discuss the benefits of incorporating correctional health care into medical education with Dan McGuire, a physician assistant student. Finally, we turn to Dr. Lisa Puglisi for practical strategies primary care clinicians can use in caring for patients transitioning back to communities.

Sometimes, life-saving treatments have serious negative consequences. This month, AMA Journal of Ethics editor Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux discusses strategies for communicating about iatrogenic outcomes with Dr. Robert Nelson, a senior pediatric ethicist with the Food and Drug Administration, with a particular focus on how to enlist parents as allies in high-stress pediatric cases. Later in the episode, we talk with Gigi McMillan, the mother of a pediatric brain tumor survivor who founded We Can, Pediatric Brain Tumor Network, who discusses how networks of peer mentors can help families navigate these painful situations.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor James M. Wilkins, MD, a geriatric psychiatry fellow at Partners Healthcare, interviewed Beth Soltzberg, MBA, MSW, about innovative ways to promote health and social engagement among people living with dementia. Soltzberg is director of the Alzheimer's/Related Family Disorders Support Program at Jewish Family and Children's Service.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Subha Perni, MD, a recent graduate of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, interviewed Elizabeth Epstein, PhD, RN, about strategies for understanding and address moral distress in clinical settings. Dr. Epstein is an associate professor of nursing at the University of Virginia.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Renee Mao, a third-year medical student at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, interviewed Dr. Tarris Rosell, PhD, DMin, MDiv, about strategies for incorporating spiritual care into oncology. Dr. Rosell is clinical professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Medicine at the University of Kansas.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor James Aluri, a third-year medical student at Johns Hopkins University, interviewed Dr. Autumn Fiester, PhD, about strategies for defusing "difficult" patient-clinician relationships. Dr. Fiester is assistant chair for education and training in the Division of Medical Ethics at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Zujaja Tauqeer, a third-year medical student at Harvard Medical School, interviewed Donald A. Barr, MD, PhD, about caring for patients with limited English language and health literacy schools. Dr. Barr is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor William R. Smith, a third-year medical student at Emory University School of Medicine and a doctoral candidate in philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, interviewed James Mohr, PhD, about how the medical profession has been regulated—and regulated itself—over the course of American history. Dr. Mohr is College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of History and Philip H. Knight Professor of Social Sciences at the University of Oregon.

This month, AMA Journal of Ethics theme editor Terri Davis, a third-year MD student at West Virginia University School of Medicine, interviewed Ranit Mishori, MD, about how to respond to incidents of suspected human trafficking in health care settings. Dr. Mishori is a professor of family medicine and the director of the Department of Family Medicine's Global Health Initiatives at Georgetown University School of Medicine.