Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Diagnosing Death

No doubt many of you have heard the odd 'ghost story' involving nail scratch marks discovered on the inside lids of long occupied coffins. It seems when you are dead, you still may not have died yet? Now you can look to BBC's Health reporter, Anna-Marie Lever for incite into what may seem to those outside the medical profession or to even our novice medical students at UMHS, as probably the simplest diagnosis for a physician to make ~ diagnosing death. The article entitled "How easy is it to diagnose death?" (BBC-Health column) questions that assumption.

The report cites various cases where patients were mistakenly declared dead or appear to have regained life, sometimes referred to as the "Lazarus Syndrome". The question warrants further examination, especial by those students studying medical ethics this semester, as one quickly realizes the enormity of the medical, ethical and legal implications of a misdiagnosis of death!
"Dr Daniel Sokol, a barrister and medical ethicist at Imperial College London, said: "The implications of confirming a person dead are enormous, and hence doctors have an ethical obligation to ensure that they 'diagnose' death with due care and skill."
Note the Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA) provides this definition:
ยง 1. [Determination of Death]. An individual who has sustained either (1) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or (2) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, is dead. A determination of death must be made in accordance with accepted medical standards.

Read the full article posted this morning (October 17, 2012) online at BBC News - Health.

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Thursday, December 09, 2010

Nurses Recognized for their Honesty and Ethical Behaviour

"Nurses continue to outrank other professions in Gallup's annual Honesty and Ethics survey. Eighty-one percent of Americans say nurses have "very high" or "high" honesty and ethical standards, a significantly greater percentage than for the next-highest-rated professions, military officers and pharmacists."
Nurses have topped the list for eleven years straight! Medical Doctors ranked 6th place this year with sixty-six percent.
Read the latest Gallup survey of professional honesty and ethical standards by clicking on the post title.

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Sunday, October 03, 2010

Progressing from Social Media to 'Social Medicine'

Listen to the podcast from CBC Radio and then voice your opinion on this latest phenomenon called 'social medicine'.
What is 'social medicine'?
"That's when health professionals blog and tweet and text, not only to each other -- but to their patients. Some even go as far as making friends on Facebook ..."
CBC Radio program "White Coat, Black Art" presents the pros & cons.

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Thursday, January 21, 2010

Bioethics Briefing Book


The Hastings Center offers the 'Bioethics Briefing Book', geared to journalists, policymakers, and campaigns, which contains 36 overviews of issues in bioethics that command high public interest.
Each chapter presents considerations from various perspectives, news stories, linked resources, and any recent legislation.

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