Ethics in the ER

This recent Wednesday was the first meeting of the Ethics in the ER course that I am co teaching with Harborview ER doc Stephanie Cooper. Our goals are to expose medical students to how the complex medical decisions made in the emergency department often demand a quick assessment and resolution of ethical dilemmas. The ER (especially in urban hospitals) is one place where physicians will rely on ethical principles every day.

So we've put together a course that features 20 minutes of lecture, 30 minutes of instuctor-led case reasoning, and an hour of student group reasoning. As the class moves forward, we will increasingly role play the fast pace neeed in the ER.

Since I'm a blogger, we're using a blog to enhance learning. If you want to follow along, feel free to stop by and read the students' posts. I'll be posting thinking exercises and links to relevant stories over there every week. There is also a course website, where you can peruse our reading list and syllabus. We're hoping to publish some of our motivations and experiences with this venture, as we are unaware of other efforts along these lines...