Virtual Mentor. December 2005, Volume 7, Number 12

Ethics Poll

When physicians speak in other roles

The Ethics Poll is a snapshot of the opinions of interested readers.

I believe that physicians have a binding ethical obligation not only to care for their individual patients but also to take public health advocacy roles.
Yes
No

There ought to be some way to restrict the publication of medical advice (strictly speaking, not health or life-style tips) written by nonphysicians.
Yes
No

Media attention to controversial end-of-life cases, on balance, does:
A. More good than harm by protecting patient interests and prompting people to discuss their end-of-life wishes with family members.
B. More harm than good by extending the patient's life beyond what he or she would have wanted and turning family tragedy into entertainment for a sensation-hungry public.

Because of their special knowledge and training, physicians should take a high-profile, public role in the current evolution versus intelligent design/creationism debates.
Yes
No

View results
Poll results reflect the opinions of visitors to the site who voluntarily answer the poll questions. Those visitors do not represent a random sample of Virtual Mentor readers. The viewpoints expressed on this site are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the AMA.