Medical education

of life had completely deteriorated, they denied her. In February of 1994, a doctor helped her in secret, thus breaking the law, in order for her to finally rest at peace. And lastly, Mr. Sanpedro also went through the courts in order to receive medical assistance with his death. As a young boy, Mr. Sanpedro was paralyzed from the neck down after an unfortunate accident while swimming in Spain. The courts denied him because there were plenty of other people who were in the same condition…

Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male Forty years ago, 600 of African Americans were horrifically involved in the Tuskegee syphilis experiments. In Macon County, Alabama illiterate black men were taken advantage of and were treated like objects instead of human beings. These victims were told they needed to be treated for having “bad blood”, including fatigue, anemia and syphilis. Instead, they just being observed because of their sexually transmitted disease, syphilis.…

Physician assisted suicide, euthanasia, and withdrawal of life support are the topics of a controversial discussion in the medical field. Many physicians do not believe in PAS because it is against their morals. The patient’s family may also advocate for end of life care, but that is ultimately the patient’s decision. There are now five states that participate in the Death with Dignity act within the United States. Physician assisted suicide is a highly controversial topic since it was first…

Some blamed mentally ill individuals for gun deaths such as Anne Coulter who says, “Guns don’t kill people - the mentally ill do” (Metzl and MacLeish, 240). This negative portrayal is also played out on media reports. An example is the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting by Adam Lanza, believed to have a history of schizophrenia (Metzl and MacLeish, 240). They, in addition to other groups such as the National Rifle Association (NRA), establish a causal relationship between being mentally…

Patients and average individuals are most likely to support policy change because they suffer the most from HAC. Medical personnel face an intermediate level of harm, because their livelihood and reputation is affected, but they are not directly impacted by the patient’s injury. There may be psychological impacts because many take on the Hippocratic oath to do no harm…

appropriately in a hospital setting. This year I learned how to complete a history and a physical. Even though I still have a lot to learn, this year will be an important foundation for my future as a physician. When I began my year at New York Medical College I was slightly concerned about the early clinical exposure. Getting early clinical exposure sounds important, but…

Somewhere around the beginning of March 2003 I lost a close family member of mine due to the improper medical care of some health professionals, such as nurses and doctors. This incident caused me to become interested in the subject of End of Life Care. End of Life Care is “the health care, not only that of a hospitalized patient in their last few days or minutes, but more broadly care of those with a terminal illness or terminal condition that has become advanced, progressive, and incurable”.…

debilitating illnesses and diseases with no chances of a cure or die an earlier death with a little of our dignity and financial security intact, up to legislation? These are some of the questions brought to light in one of the most highly debated medical ethics questions. There are many factors that play into both sides that support the argument of the legalization of euthanasia. With that, there are many methods to carrying out this act in a controlled manner. The issue with this is the…

“I would never want to be kept alive artificially,” 39 year old quadriplegic French man, Vincent Lambert stated to his wife before his motorbike accident in 2008. However, Vincent has remained in a vegetative state since, causing controversy about his condition and whether he should be allowed to choose to end his life. According to French Law, his wife has the capacity to make a decision about her partners’ life; causing controversy between his family and furthermore reignites the debate on…

When considering the genre of medical science and the work of doctors, we typically imagine these areas in regard to making revolutionary discoveries and saving lives. Is this realistic or a rose-tinted view? History shows medicine and doctors can ‘go bad’ spectacularly. Some medical controversies were accidents, but many have resulted from deliberate actions. Sometimes doctors believed the greater good, as they saw it, was more important than ethical behavior. Many of these incidents were not…