See more of this title: Medical Ethics and the Faith Factor: A Handbook for Clergy and Health-Care Professionals

Clinical ethics is a relatively new discipline within medicine, generated not so much by the Can we . . . ? questions of fact and prognosis that physicians usually address, but primarily by the more uncomfortable gray areas having to do with Should we . . . ? questions: / Should we use a feeding tube for Mom? / How should we deal with our baby about to be born with life-threatening anomalies? / Should our son be taken off dialysis, even though hell die without it? / What should we do with our mentally ill sister, who has proven that she is untreatable? / In this book Robert Orr draws on his extensive medical knowledge and experience to offer a wealth of guidance regarding real-life dilemmas in clinical ethics. Replete with instructive case studies, Medical Ethics and the Faith Factor is an invaluable resource that reintroduces the human element to a discussion so often detached from the very people it claims to concern.

Medical Ethics and the Faith Factor is a reference book that promises to be a very useful resource for health care professionals, chaplains, pastors, priests, rabbis, and other people of faith who frequently interact with individuals and families facing illness and disability. / Robert Orr brings to the table the accumulated knowledge of four decades in the medical field, many of which he spent dealing with clinical ethics. However, unlike many books on medical ethics, this isnt simply a platform to convince us that Orrs opinion is fact. Instead, it is a reality check replete with real case studies that reintroduce the human element to a discussion so often detached from the very people it claims to concern. / In part 1 Orr explains the ethical and theological foundations of contemporary clinical ethics. Parts 2, 3, and 4 focus on specific ethical dilemmas. Here Orr tackles such questions as What management options are available when the family of a patient who is brain dead is unwilling to accept the diagnosis? Is a feeding tube ethically obligatory for a patient with advanced dementia? Is it ethically permissible to continue to prescribe narcotics for a patient who admits to their misuse? Should we provide organ transplantation for an undocumented foreign national? / Finally, part 5 explores ways that family members, clergy, counselors, and friends can assist patients and families as they struggle with these difficult decisions, emphasizing the priesthood of believers and the importance of prayer for Gods wisdom and peace. / Medical Ethics and the Faith Factor is a timely entry into a growing ethical discussion. Readers of this book will come away with a greater familiarity with clinical issues, a recognition of the moral questions raised by those issues including those of religion and culture and the ability to render more thoughtful assistance to patients and families struggling to find answers.