This review of psychiatry ethics is intended for residents, fellows, and practicing psychiatrists. We provide an overview of the historical sources of ethical reasoning and give practitioners a structured method for analysis of ethical dilemmas typically encountered in the practice of medicine. Through the use of case examples, we explain how difficult situations often challenge received knowledge and superficial opinion about the ethical options present and justifiable in real-life situations. This review will appeal to the higher callings and traditions of medicine and encourage the physician who is faced with ethical decisions about which reasonable practitioners may disagree. Tools of ethical reasoning provide a means for making ethical decisions that are grounded in history and tradition.
This review contains 1 figure, 6 tables, and 30 references.
Key words: confidentiality, decision making, doctor-patient relationship, ethics, informed consent, narrative, principles, professionalism, respect, virtue
Editorial: Ethics in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy