Inspired by a speech from Australian Army chief David Morrison, Iain Beardsell asks what it means to uphold shared values in the NHS. He reflects on everyday standards, humiliation of colleagues and the personal responsibility to challenge behaviour that undermines a supportive working culture.
Making a Difference – Do you walk past? Read More
Can ‘first, do no harm’ describe clinical practice when every useful intervention carries some risk? The third instalment of this ethics series explores benefit, harm and utilitarian reasoning, asking how clinicians can pursue a patient’s interests while respecting moral limits.
What happens when colleagues, relatives or public figures arrive expecting different treatment in the emergency department? This reflection examines fairness, pressure to prioritise, over-investigation and incomplete assessment, and considers how teams can handle personal connections while keeping care consistent with clinical need.
There’s a vIP in the ED at St.Emlyn’s Read More
The second instalment of this ethics series revisits a fictional rescue dilemma through the trolley problem and the four pillars of medical ethics. It explores intentions, consequences, action and omission, and asks why apparently similar choices can provoke very different moral judgements.
Ethical dilemmas in Emergency Medicine Part 2 Read More
The opening instalment of an emergency medicine ethics series presents a deliberately extreme, fictional rescue dilemma. It asks readers to weigh saving several lives against actively causing one death, using the thought experiment to begin a wider discussion about the ethics behind clinical decisions.
Ethical Dilemmas in Emergency Medicine Part 1 Read More
How should doctors teach and discuss cases online without compromising confidentiality? Simon Carley’s response to the GMC’s 2013 social media guidance explores professional identity, potentially identifiable details and the difficulties of using fictional cases that resemble real patients.
GMC Guidance on social media use by doctors. St.Emlyn’s Read More
