Virtual Mentor. July 2014

This month in Virtual Mentor

Ethical Issues in the Physician-Athlete Relationship

Sports are risky. Whether the goal is winning, adventure, exercise, or just fun, engaging in athletic activity exposes one to various degrees of harm. Physicians, then, should be consulted before undertaking—or allowing one’s child to participate in—any form of sport. In weighing the risks and benefits of high school football, clearing an amateur adventurer for a strenuous climb, or managing requests for performance-enhancing substances, physicians confront ethical challenges in their relationships with athletes and parents of aspiring competitors. July’s Virtual Mentor authors share vast knowledge and experience on how those challenges can best be met.

How You Play the Game Trahern W. Jones The tension inherent in striving for extraordinary physical achievement while maintaining good health lies at the heart of the physician-athlete relationship.

A Patient’s Request for Steroids to Enhance Participation in Wilderness Sport and Adventure Commentary by Christopher Madden, MD, Aaron D. Campbell, MD, MHS, and Jessica Pierce, PhD The use of medication for the prevention and treatment of life-threatening altitude-related illness is very different, medically and morally, from the use of medication to enhance performance.

Drug Testing in Sport: hGH (Human Growth Hormone) Gary A. Green, MD The only studies in which hGH was shown to have a positive effect on athletic performance were in anabolic steroid users, so testing for hGH alone may not be accomplishing the intended goal.

Addressing Concussion in Youth Sports Kevin D. Walter, MD One major difficulty in collecting data on which to base injury prevention strategies is the lack of large epidemiologic studies and comprehensive injury surveillance.

Upcoming Issues

August The Humanities in Medical Education

September Physicians as Agents of Social Change

October Ethics in Reproductive Care

November Medicine's Role in Validating Sexual Norms