Doing Right: A Practical Guide to Ethics for Medical Trainees and Physicians

John H. Gryfe is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon practising in
Toronto.

In today’s complex society, consumer advocacy has become an
unchallenged tenet of daily life. In the world of medicine, it is not
enough for physicians to simply take care to “do no harm” and to
assess whether the patient is being handled in a fair and equitable
manner. They must also ensure that patients are fully informed as to
their health status and that they play an active role in deciding what,
if any, treatment modality should be initiated. Societal pressures have
forged a new practitioner image that bears only a faint resemblance to
the “country doc” of yesteryear. As the author of Doing Right notes,
today’s physician is expected to “respect a patient’s autonomy but
not forget his or her own independent, professional judgement.” This
judgement dictates an ethical decisionmaking process that in Hébert’s
view ultimately serves to reinforce the responsibility to “do the
right thing.”

Using a balanced mixture of discussion, case-history presentation, and
review of various statutes in both Canada and the United States, the
author has produced an introductory text directed toward both the
undergraduate medical student and the inexperienced practitioner. While
the book’s contents provide a thought-provoking and stimulating diet
for the interested potential “advocate,” the case-history detail and
medical jargon may prove the too involved for some.