Ethics Opinions

Physicians have civic duties, but medical ethics do not require a physician to carry out civic duties that contradict fundamental principles of medical ethics, such as the duty to avoid doing harm. In limited circumstances, physicians can ethically participate in court-initiated medical treatments.

As a member of a profession dedicated to preserving life when there is hope of doing so, a physician must not participate in a legally authorized execution.

Questions about the propriety of physician participation in interrogations and in the development of interrogation strategies may be addressed by balancing obligations to individuals with obligations to protect third parties and the public. The further removed the physician is from direct involvement with a detainee, the more justifiable is a role serving the public interest. When physicians have reason to believe that interrogations are coercive, they must report their observations to the appropriate authorities.

Torture refers to the deliberate, systematic, or wanton administration of cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatments or punishments during imprisonment or detainment. Physicians must oppose and must not participate in torture for any reason.

Whatever roles physicians may play in the system of health care delivery, when they use the knowledge and values they gained through medical training and practice in roles that affect the care and well-being of individual patients or groups of patients, they are functioning within the sphere of their profession.

When physicians take on roles that require them to use their medical knowledge on behalf of third parties, physicians must uphold their core obligation to promote patients’ best interests.

Physicians who are simultaneously employees and clinical supervisors of nonphysician practitioners must give precedence to their ethical obligation to act in the patient’s best interest and exercise independent professional judgment, even if that puts the physician at odds with the employer or supervisee.

Physicians must recognize that providing medical care for a fellow professional can pose special challenges for objectivity, open exchange of information, privacy and confidentiality, and informed consent. Physicians have the same fundamental ethical obligations when treating peers as when treating any other patient.

Nurses hold a primary ethical obligation to promote patients’ well-being; while physicians have overall responsibility for the quality of care that patients receive, good nursing practice requires that nurses voice their concerns when, in the nurse’s professional judgment, a physician order is in error or is contrary to good medical practice. Physicians’ relationships with nurses should be based on mutual respect and trust.

Although physicians have overall responsibility for the quality of care that patients receive, allied health professionals have training and expertise that complements physicians’. Allied health professionals share a common commitment to patient well-being. Physicians’ relationships with allied health professionals should be based on mutual respect and trust.