LITERATURE AND ETHICAL MEDICINE - 5 CASES FROM COMMON PRACTICE

This essay is composed of five stories written by practicing physician s about their patients. Each clinical story describes a challenging et hical condition-potential abuse of medical power, gravely ill and prob ably over-treated newborns, iatrogenic narcotic addiction, deceived dy ing people. Rather than singling out one ethical conflict to resolve o r adjudicate, the authors attempt, through literary methods, to grasp the singular experiences of their patients and to act according to the deep structures of their patients' lives. Examining these five storie s with simple literary tools-attention to narrative frames, time, plot , and desire-reveals the mechanisms through which acts of writing and reading contribute to clinical clarity and ethical actions.