What implications on medical schools have HIV infection and AIDS, as the schools reshape their curricula to meet the General Medical Council's new requirements? (General Medical Council 1993). A recent Institute of Medical Ethics' (IME) enquiry suggests: (1) that each medical school should have a specific policy to coordinate teaching on HIV infection and AIDS, and to maximize students' clinical contact with patients who have the virus; and (2) that medical students should be encouraged to develop self-awareness and skills in communication and ethics.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed1992

Managing the persistent vegetative state.

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Attitude to Health↗

PubMed1992

HIV infection and AIDS: the ethics of medical confidentiality.

An Institute of Medical Ethics working party argues that an ethically desirable relationship of mutual empowerment between patient and clinician is more likely to be achieved if patients understand the ground rules of medical confidentiality. It identifies and illustrates ambiguities in the General Medical Council's guidance on AIDS and confidentiality, and relates this to the practice of different doctors and specialties. Matters might be clarified, it suggests, by identifying moral factors which tend to recur in medical decisions about maintaining or breaching confidentiality. The working party argues that two such factors are particularly important: the patient's need to exercise informed choice and the doctor's primary responsibility to his or her own patients.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed1990

Institute of Medical Ethics: working party report. HIV infection: the ethics of anonymised testing and of testing pregnant women.

An Institute of Medical Ethics working party supports the view that explicit permission should normally be sought in the case of testing for HIV antibody. It discusses this in relation to anonymised HIV testing for epidemiological purposes, concluding that this is to be welcomed, given certain safeguards. It next argues that pregnant women may have a greater and more immediate need than others to know their HIV status. It concludes that this need does not justify testing them without their permission, but can be met by voluntary diagnostic testing on an 'opting-out' basis, supported by adequate briefing.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗

PubMed1987

The moral challenge of AIDS.

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Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed1986

Priorities in the allocation of scarce resources.

The authors report and comment on student reactions to a clinical example of moral choice in the microallocation of scarce resources. Four patients require dialysis simultaneously, but only one kidney machine is available. What moral, as opposed to clinical, criteria are available to determine who should have priority?

Decision Making↗

PubMed1983

The ethics of resource allocation.

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England↗

PubMed1981

Research ethical committees in Scotland.

A questionnaire was sent to 41 ethical committees in Scotland requesting information about their constitution and supervision of clinical research. Thirty-four (83%) replies were received. Committees varied in size from one to 73 members, most of whom were medical. Ten had no nurse members and only three had lay members without direct NHS connections. Sixteen saw their role as advisory rather than supervisory. Thirteen had not met in the past year whereas two had held 10 or more meetings. Limited use (12) was made of standard protocols, and only six had formal procedures for monitoring research in progress. Only seven of 370 proposals were rejected outright. Risk/benefit dilemmas and difficulties relating to informed consent were the commonest problems encountered. The committees provide only limited safeguards for patients and research workers, and more effective, standardised procedures are indicated.

Ethics Committees, Research↗

PubMed1981

The right to life.

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Attitude to Death↗