The emergency department is a place of challenging ethical dilemmas and little time and resources to solve them. Ethical Dilemmas in Emergency Medicine provides invaluable information, perspectives, and solutions to common ethical dilemmas in emergency medicine. It addresses important topics seen in the emergency department, including medicolegal issues, triage, privacy and confidentiality, social media, difficult patients, minors, research, patient safety, disasters, suicide, and end of life issues. The accompanying educational modules provide a unique educational opportunity for resident and staff education on ethical issues in emergency medicine. Featuring twenty-three case-based discussions of ethical dilemmas in emergency medicine along with numerous multimedia resources, including media presentations, case based discussions, and multiple choice questions, this book is an invaluable resource for residents in training as well as practicing physicians.


Presented in an easy-to-read case-based format
Includes multimedia resources, including media presentations, case-based discussions, and multiple choice questions
Helps provide solutions to recognisable, everyday ethical dilemmas in emergency medicine

1. Principles of medical ethics Kenneth V. Iserson
2. Law and ethics Arthur R. Derse
3. Triage of emergency patients Joel M. Geiderman
4. Privacy, confidentiality and public health reporting Joy Hardison
5. Social media and electronic communications Diane Gorgas, Jillian McGrath and Lydia Sahlani
6. Multiculturalism and 'cultural competency' Kelly Bookman
7. Informed consent Leslie R. Vojta and James E. Brown
8. Against medical advice, refusal of care, and informed consent Jeremy R. Simon
9. Care of minors Sarah C. Cavallaro and Jill M. Baren
10. The difficult patient Jay M. Brenner and Javad T. Hashmi
11. Law enforcement in the emergency department Eileen F. Baker
12. Research ethics Lauren M. Sauer, Richard E. Rothman and Gabor D. Kelen
13. Conflicts of interest Erika Newton and Adam J. Singer
14. Medical errors and patient safety John C. Moskop
15. Expert witness testimony Robert C. Solomon
16. Values and responsibilities in professional practice Gregory L. Henry and Kartik Rao
17. The ethics of disasters Paul P. Rega
18. Stewardship of health care resources Shellie Asher
19. Education in emergency medicine Walter Limehouse and Catherine A. Marco
20. Suicide attempts Jennifer Nelson and Arvind Venkat
21. Geriatric emergency medicine V. Ramana Feeser
22. Palliative medicine Tammie E. Quest
23. End of life care Monica Williams-Murphy.