THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES

ST. AUGUSTINE, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, WEST INDIES

MEDICAL SCIENCES LIBRARY

MEDICAL ETHICS
This pathfinder is a guide to resources available at the Medical Sciences Library.
All links are freely available on the Internet.

Definitions:
"Medical ethics is a discipline/methodology for considering the implications of medical
technology/treatment and what ought to be."
The principles of proper professional conduct concerning the rights and duties of the
physician himself, his patients and his fellow practitioners, as well as his actions in the
care of patients and in relations with their families.
http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/omd?medical+ethics
Medical ethics is the discipline of evaluating the merits, risks, and social concerns of
activities in the field of medicine. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_ethics

Call Numbers for Browsing:

W32.6; W50
Books:
Children, ethics and modern medicine. Richard B. Miller. Bloomington, IN: Indiana
University Press, c2003. (WS 21 M649c 2003)
Medical ethics ;manual. John R. Williams. Fernesy-Voltaire, France, World Meidcal
Association, 2005 (W 50 W724m 2005)
The moral development of health care professionals: rational decision-making in
health care ethics. Bertram Bandman. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2003 (W 50 B214m
2003)
Risk and luck in medical ethic. Donna Dickenson. Cambridge, UK : Polity ; Malden,
MA : Blackwell, 2003. (W 50 D554r 2003)

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PubMed Abstracts: These are found on the PubMed site on the Internet:
http://www.pubmed.gov
Mattick K, Bligh J. Teaching and assessing medical ethics: where are we now?J Med
Ethics. 2006 Mar;32(3):181-185.
Valiathan MS. Ethical issues in the practice of medicine.
Indian J Chest Dis Allied Sci. 2006 Jan-Mar;48(1):7-11. No abstract available.
Albury WR, Weisz GM. The medical ethics of Erasmus and the physician-patient
relationship. Med Humanit. 2001 Jun;27(1):35-41.
Aarons DE. Issues in bioethics. Teaching medical ethics to health professionals.West
Indian Med J. 2002 Jun;51(2):59-63.
Fearon MA. The legal and ethical issues raised by the practice of alternative and
homeopathic medicine in the Caribbean. West Indian Med J. 2000 Dec;49(4):268-70.
Emery H. Challenges facing the physician in the 21st century. West Indian Med J. 2000
Sep;49(3):194-5..
Aarons DE. Ethics, medicine and society: imperatives for the future. West Indian Med J.
1999 Dec;48(4):179-82.
Aarons DE. Medicine and its alternatives. Health care priorities in the Caribbean.
Hastings Cent Rep. 1999 Jul-Aug;29(4):23-7.

E-Journals:
Journal of Medical Ethics
http://jme.bmjjournals.com/
BMC Medical Ethics
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmedethics/
Indian Journal of Medical Ethics
http://www.issuesinmedicalethics.org/
Bulletin of Medical Ethics
http://www.bullmedeth.info/

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Internet Links:
Professional Ethics
http://www.library.adelaide.edu.au/guide/hum/philosophy/prof_ethics.html

University of Adelaide website. Includes information on health ethics, general

professional ethics resources, glossary of ethics terminology, Codes of ethics, other
profession, and associations.
McGill Clinical Trials Research Group
http://www.mcgill.ca/ctrg/links/
Has links to other research ethics websites.
Medicine, Ethics, & Medical Informatics
http://www.journeyofhearts.org/jofh/jofh_old/minf_528/intro.htm
Human values should govern research and practice in the health profession.
Healthcare informatics encompasses issues of appropriate and inappropriate behavior,
of honorable and disreputable actions, and of right and wrong.
Medical Ethics.ca
http://www.medicalethics.ca/
Canadian resources for medical ethics: websites, books, articles, societies,
associations, research institutes.
Health Care Ethics
http://www.ethicsweb.ca/resources/bioethics/
Canadian ethics website for the professional in health care. Includes ethics in nursing,
pharmacy, business and medicine.
Nursing Ethics.ca
http://www.nursingethics.ca/articles.html
Ethics for the nursing professional including articles on biomedical reports
Clinical Consultation Services: medical ethics programs and services
http://www.medicalethics.com
Educational programs can be provided to healthcare organizations, professional
associations, state medical boards, Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs and
community groups. Programs include lectures, presentations, seminars, staff in-service
training and Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs.
The Centre for Bioethics and Human Dignity
http://www.cbhd.org/
The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity exists to help individuals and organizations
address the pressing bioethical challenges of our day, including managed care, end-oflife treatment, genetic intervention, euthanasia and suicide, and reproductive
technologies.
Issues in Medical Ethics
http://www.healthlibrary.com/reading/ethics/index.htm

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Access to health-related information promoting health/prevention of diseases; mental

health/illness; substance abuse; therapies/treatments; body systems and diseases; life
processes
British Medical Association - Ethics
http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/__Home_Public
The British Medical Association is the professional association for doctors. With over
135,000 members, representing almost 80% of practising doctors in the UK, the BMA is
the voice of the profession and medical students.
University of Buffalo Centre for Clinical Ethics and Humanities in Health Care
http://wings.buffalo.edu/faculty/research/bioethics/index.htm
The Center is an interdisciplinary academic center of the University at Buffalo. It draws
upon a wide range of individuals from the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
as well as various health care and academic institutions in the Buffalo New York area.
HealthWeb - Bioethics
http://healthweb.org/browse.cfm?subjectid=28
The University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics is a leader in bioethics research and
its deployment in the ethical, efficient, and compassionate practice of the life sciences
and medicine.
Bioethics Network of Ohio
http://www.beno-ethics.org/
The network promotes collaboration and communication among its members on
bioethical issues, and serves as an educational resource for both professionals and the
public.
Ethics in Biomedicine
http://www.mic.ki.se/Diseases/k1.316.html
Karoliska Institutet University Library. Included information on terminal care, organ
donation, AIDS, genetics, addiction, eldercare, malpractice, preventive care and
rationing comprise an imposing list of contemporary bioethical issues.
Bioethics and Medical Ethics
http://www.bu.edu/wcp/MainBioe.htm
An index of papers given at the Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy, Boston, Mass.
1998.
Digestive Ethics, Gastroenterology, and Digestive Endoscopy: Changing Concepts in a
Changing World
http://www.omed.org/book.htm
World Organization for digestieve Endoscopy. Several reports of AD HOC OMED
committees on changing concept in digestive ethics, gastroenterology and digestive
endoscopy.
The Ethics of Aids Care
http://www.thebody.com/iapac/harvey.html
International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care with considerations in providing
lifesaving and life extending drugs to the medically indigent in the United States.

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Biomedical Ethics
http://www.nv.cc.va.us/home/aaoudjit/docpat.htm
Comprehensive bioethics site, biomedical ethics in the news, classic works and cases.
Medical Oaths and Declarations
http://www.vaccinationnews.com/DailyNews/December2001/MedicalOaths.htm
Full-Text articles on ethics, BMJ, J Med Ethics, MBA as related to Medical oaths and
declarations.
Ethical Aspects of Clinical Error and Patient Safety
http://www.medicalerrors.ca/
The purpose of this site is to serve as a starting point for those interested in exploring
the ethical aspects of clinical error. Clinical errors go by many names, including "medical
errors," "medication errors," "iatrogenesis," and "adverse events.
Ethics in Medicine
http://eduserv.hscer.washington.edu/bioethics/tools/prin1cs.html
University of Washington School of Medicine. Principles of bioethics : Illustrative cases
on respect for autonomy, bioethics topics clerkships bioethics tools and resources.
Ethics Manual
http://www.acponline.org/journals/annals/01apr98/ethicman.htm
American College of Physicians. Clinical information, journals, ethics manual on Internal
medicine.
Medical Ethics
http://www.molloy.edu/academic/philosophy/sophia/ethics/medical_ethics.htm
Molloy College, Department of Philosophy. Molloy resources, Principles of Medical
Ethics and useful websites.
First, Do No Harm! Medical Ethics and Moral Education
http://www.humanismtoday.org/vol11/radest.html
Several articles on Medical Ethics and moral Education.

Confidentiality and the ethics of medical ethics

http://jme.bmjjournals.com/cgi/data/28/1/DC1/4
This paper considers the use of cases in medical ethics research and teaching.

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