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Health Care Ethics USA
The festive season is upon us again. On behalf of all at the Center for Health Care Ethics I wish our readers a very peaceful and joyful Christmas. We have now finished the Fall semester at the Center, so end of term essays are occupying the time of students and faculty alike. After another successful term we are looking forward to a restful and peaceful Christmas vacation. Then, in January, we will have a new member of faculty: Ana Iltis, PhD, who recently graduated from Rice University, will join the tenure-track faculty at the Center. We extend a warm welcome to Ana and wish her every success as she settles at Saint Louis University. As usual, this issue of Health Care Ethics USA has three essays. The first essay on organizational ethics is by myself, "Quality Improvement in Patient Safety: An Opportunity for Mission Leadership in Health Care." The essay suggests that mission leadership has an important opportunity to connect the individual autonomy among health personnel with professional teamwork to address the underlying causes of medical error. The second essay on foundational ethics, "‘God’s Dominion’ and the Wrongness of Killing" is by Jill Burkemper, PhD, who is a member of the departmental faculty at the Center. Jill explains that attributing the prohibition of killing to the concept of God’s dominion does not mean religious assumptions are necessary to support legal prohibitions of physician-assisted suicide. The third essay on organizational ethics, "Should Hospitals be Patriotic?" is by Griffin Trotter, MD, PhD, who is a member of the departmental faculty at the Center. Griffin argues that, despite potential pitfalls, patriotism can be valuable, especially when there is a mandate for terrorism preparedness. I hope you enjoy the essays and I look forward to receiving suggestions for topics that we might address in future issues. Professor Gerard Magill, PhD Index | Next: Quality Improvement in Patient Safety: An Opportunity for Mission Leadership in Health Care. |
From the Director... |
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