Ethics by Committee: A Textbook on Consultation, Organization, and Education for Hospital Ethics Committees

by Micah D. Hester, Dyrleif Bjarnadottir, Mark Bliton, Michael Boyland, Ken DeVille

Overview

Ethics by Committee was developed for the tens of thousands of people across the United States serve on hospital and other healthcare ethics committees (HECs). Experts in bioethics, clinical consultation, health law, and social psychology from across the country have contributed chapters on ethics consultation, education, and policy development. The chapters discuss important considerations for HEC members such as promoting just and ethical organizations, developing cultural and spiritual awareness, and preparing for the forces of group dynamics in committee discussions and consensus-building. No other book on the market offers the diversity of perspectives and topics while remaining focused, clear, and useful.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742550452
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	10/05/2007
Pages:	322
Product dimensions:	6.33(w) x 9.37(h) x 1.09(d)

About the Author

D. Micah Hester is assistant professor of medical humanities and pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and clinical ethicist at Arkansas Children's Hospital. He has authored/edited 7 books, including Community As Healing (2001) and numerous journal articles and commentaries.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Preface
Part 2 Contributors
Part 3 Preliminaries
Chapter 4 Chapter 1: What should an HEC look & act like?
Chapter 5 Chapter 2: The "What?" and "Why?" of Ethics
Chapter 6 Chapter 3: Reasoning in Ethics
Part 7 Consulting
Chapter 8 Chapter 4: Ethics Consultation and the Committee
Chapter 9 Chapter 5: Responsibility in Actual Practice: Consent and Participation in Clinical Ethics Consultation
Chapter 10 Chapter 6: Cultural Diversity in the Clinical Setting
Chapter 11 Chapter 7: Religious Values and Medical Decision-Making
Chapter 12 Chapter 8: 8.Ethics Consultation at the End-of-life: Ideals, Rules, and Standards to Guide Decision-Making
Chapter 13 Chapter 9: Ethics in Pediatrics
Part 14 Educating
Chapter 15 Chapter 10: The Health Care Ethics Committee as Educator
Chapter 16 Chapter 11:Hospital Ethics Committees and Research with Human Beings
Part 17 Thinking about Policy
Chapter 18 Chapter 12: Distributive Justice in Hospital Healthcare
Chapter 19 Chapter 13: Taking the Lead in Developing Institutional Policies
Part 20 Last Thoughts
Chapter 21 Chapter 14:Handling the Law in HEC Deliberations
Chapter 22 Chapter 15:A Management Guide for the Committee
Part 23 Further Resources

Editorial Reviews

Ethics by Committee is a wonderful and welcome addition to the literature, providing a useful resource for institutions looking to start an ethics program, ethics committee chairs who would like to improve their existing ethics committee or consultation process, and individuals who serve on ethics committees or perform ethics consultations. It should be required reading for every member of an ethics committee and everyone doing ethics consultations.

Douglas S. Diekema

This is an invaluable text for human ethics committee [HEC] members. It will be a very useful introduction for individuals interested in joining a HEC and a handy reference for those already enmeshed in the world of clinical ethics!

Lainie Friedman Ross

Ethics by Committee is an exhaustive exploration and guide to the many dimensions of this complicated area of ethics practice. Both novices and veterans will find it illuminating and ethics committees will simply have to have a copy in their library. For newcomers it may well become required reading.

Jonathan Moreno