The World Medical Association calls itself "the only international organization that seeks to represent all physicians". But the main focus of the WMA has been ethics, ever since its creation in 1947, as the medical atrocities of World War II started coming to light. Almost 60 years on, charges of physician involvement in detainee abuse (Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, to name but two examples) would be enough to keep this understaffed NGO in business. But the WMA's work covers this and far more, besides.
The
organization has just unveiled what its Secretary-General
Delon Human MD calls "the first, basic universally usable
curriculum for the teaching of medical ethics." The
Medical
Ethics Manual is topical, succinct, neatly structured,
gracefully written - and a mini-milestone in online
publishing. It is the work of an international team headed
by Canadian medical ethicist Prof. John R. Williams
(photo). Target audience: medical schools and the
world's estimated 9 million physicians. Cost to users:
zero.
The WMA will release some 10,000 hard copies of the
manual in English. French, Japanese and Spanish versions are
on the way. Funds allowing, Chinese, Arabic, Russian and
Portuguese translations are also envisaged.
'A much needed introduction'
At a length of only 134 pages, the volume's relative slimness is compensated by good online links to other web sources. Says Dr Pierre Perrin, chief medical officer of the International Committee of the Red Cross, "They have come up with an outstanding and much-needed introduction to medical ethics."
Of course, the manual can't address medical specialities,
like gastroenterology," Williams explains. "But it's an
alternative to things like this." He hefts an 800-page, $120
dollar hardback volume on ethics from BMJ publishing.
"Practically every medical school has a computer and
internet access," he continues. "They can download our
document and print off as many copies as they want - for
free."
Judging medical reports
The manual uses a brief case-study approach to range well beyond the Hippocratic basics. It lays down clear behavioural guidelines on matters ranging from AIDS sufferers through relations with the pharmaceutical industry to the proper judgement of medical research. "Many new problems have come to the fore and physicians must take a critical and informed stance", according to Williams. "For example, it's becoming vital for physicians to question the results of scientific reports. Is a given medication really as good as it's cracked up to be? But at the end of the day, it's still about putting the patient first."
Working at WMA headquarters, a modest suite of offices in
the suburbs of Geneva, Williams wisely opted for the
single-author approach, but relied for much of the best
material on 14 expert colleagues and bevies of medical
students in 13 countries, including Australia, Canada,
Germany, Egypt and Pakistan. His team is especially proud of
their speed of execution. "Conventional publishing is a
painfully slow process", Williams told Gastro-Pro. "It took
us six months to put this manual together, starting from the
first draft in June last year to online publication in
January, 2005 - and that includes the two months I allowed
for review and commentary. The web is a fantastic
shortcut.
|
Pierre Perrin MD, chief medical officer of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), spoke to Gastro-Pro about the value of the WMA's new ethics manual: On its use in
teaching On social
empowerment On armed conflict |
