title: The challenge of cultural and ethical pluralism to medical practice.
abstract: * "Culture" can be understood as the way in which people make sense of the world by deploying shared meanings, attitudes, assumptions and values. * Doctors will frequently encounter patients whose lives are guided by ethical systems and values that are different from their own. * Individuals may differ in their beliefs about decision-making, regardless of their cultural background. * Doctors should be willing to examine and test their own moral systems and cultural assumptions and be open to alternative traditions and beliefs. * Engaging with other cultures does not imply that all cultural norms should be accepted uncritically, as there may not always be room for compromise. * Failure to engage with issues of culture can erode the trust on which the doctor-patient relationship depends. * Tensions can only be resolved through rigorous attention to a person's story.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW. irvine@socanth.newcastle.edu.au
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Irvine
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McPhee
authors.forename: Ian H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Kerridge
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003469:Culture; D003657:Decision Making; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009679:Nuclear Family; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D014342:Truth Disclosure