title: Ethical considerations.
abstract: The doctor's oath to serve the good of the patient requires the recognition that the patient's good consists of more than simply his or her biomedical health status. This article proposes a scheme for identifying the primary decision maker in clinical settings, particularly when the patient's own decision-making capacity is in question. A few of the many ethical controversies encountered in the practice of trauma medicine are examined and discussed.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal Medicine, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Sulmasy
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: FitzGerald
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Jaffin
mesh_terms: D016223:Advance Directives; D026686:Beneficence; D026688:Bioethical Issues; D003657:Decision Making; D003663:Decision Trees; D026690:Ethics, Clinical; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000628:therapy*; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D010358:Patient Participation; D010819:Physician's Role; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D037841:Pregnant People; D040841:Resource Allocation; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement; D014193:Trauma Centers / Q000592:standards; D014194:Traumatology / Q000592:standards*