Medical ethics

Not so much a specialty as a way of thought. Trisha Macnair reports on opportunities for career development through training in medical ethics

One of the few things that everyone in the field of medical ethics agrees on is that it's a boom industry. This is good news for those interested in developing their career in that direction, although if it is true it's hardly an endorsement of the history of our profession. The rising interest in medical ethics reflects changes in the doctor-patient relationship and the increasing number of moral challenges thrown our way by new technology and the dilemma on how to spend limited resources.

Medical ethics has been defined as “the analytical activity in which the concepts, assumptions, beliefs, attitudes, emotions, reasons and arguments underlying medico-moral decision making are examined critically.”1 That's a hot potato for debate, and anyone hoping that ethics will provide simple straightforward answers will be disappointed.Ethics is central to every branch of medicine, although there are still plenty of cynics out there. If you are a control freak who doesn”t need anyone else's views cluttering up your certainty in your own practice, or a statistics fan who needs a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials to convince you of the right way to practise, then medical ethics may seem irrelevant.Fortunately, most doctors are aware of the need to back their clinical work with careful thought about how they reach important decisions. Many relish the challenge that medical ethics offer, and postgraduate study and qualifications in medical ethics can lead to a variety of career opportunities, especially in the shape of part time work among a wider portfolio. But others feel hopelessly bogged down by

the complexities of moral arguments and uncertain how to begin to address complicated ethical issues. For them, further study of ethics can greatly enrich clinical practice.The importance of …