In the clinical setting, questions of medical ethics raise a host of perplexing problems, often complicated by conflicting perspectives and the need to make immediate decisions. In this volume, bioethicists and physicians provide a nuanced, in-depth approach to the difficult issues involved in bioethics consultation. Addressing the needs of researchers, clinicians, and other health professionals on the front lines of bioethics practice, the contributors focus primarily on practical concerns—whether ethics consultation is best done by individuals, teams, or committees; how an ethics consult service should be structured; the need for institutional support; and techniques and programs for educating and training staff—without neglecting more theoretical considerations, such as the importance of character or the viability of organizational ethics.

Mark P. Aulisio, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Bioethics and Director of the Clinical Ethics Program at MetroHealth Medical Center at Case Western Reserve University. Robert M. Arnold, M.D., is Professor and Leo H. Criep Chair in Patient Care in the Department of Medicine of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Associate Director for Education at the Center for Bioethics and Health Law, and Chief of the Section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics. Stuart J. Youngner, M.D., is Chairman of the Department of Bioethics and Susan B. Watson Professor of Bioethics, and Professor of Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine