Professionalism and ethics have always remained important core components of medical practice for all health professionals, though they have evolved over time. Indeed, psychiatric professionalism and ethics have evolved considerably, and this second edition of Professionalism and Ethics: Q&A Self-Study Guide for Mental Health Professionals presents an interactive and comprehensive guide for all types of clinicians and learners ranging from experienced psychiatrists to different learners in mental health disciplines. This book, available as a paperback and as an e-book from American Psychiatric Association Publishing, aims to prepare mental health professionals for the increasing ethics challenges of an ever more complex clinical world.
The senior author is Laura Weiss Roberts, MD, MA, who is Professor and Chair in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. She is a nationally and internationally recognized scholar in bioethics, psychiatry, medicine, and medical education. The second author is Gabriel Termuehlen, BA, who is an Editor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine.
Following a preface and four different thoughtful introductory comments by very reputable psychiatrists, this book is structured into three major parts with a total of seven chapters. Part 1 comprises two chapters that take readers through a thorough review of most, if not all, areas of ethics and professionalism, in particular focusing on those pertaining to mental health. Part 2 contains four chapters that provide readers with a total of 171 multiple choice questions on professionalism and ethics with detailed annotated answers. Finally, Part 3 is a single chapter with an additional 76 self-assessment multiple choice questions. The multiple choice questions in this section draw from content contained elsewhere in the book and, along with answers to the questions, provide readers with additional references where they can read more about the background substantiating the correct answer.
By starting out with a basic introduction to medical ethics and professionalism, this book teaches and discusses old as well as new and very timely ethics topics. Examples of such topics include assisted suicide and euthanasia, social media and digital information technology, clinician’s googling their patients, professional well-being and burnout, reporting and addressing impaired colleagues, responding to LGBTQ+ concerns, and neuroethics. The book contains discussions of additional topics that may be of particular interest to forensic psychiatrists, including torture and interrogations, female genital mutilation, and human trafficking. Ethics and professional concerns in the midst of different cultural backgrounds are covered as well. The authors are also cognizant of perhaps one of today’s greatest mental health pressures for clinicians and their teams, which is to be constantly “asked to do more with less” (i.e., concerns regarding staffing, resources, and time management).
By utilizing text as well as a plethora of tables and illustrative diagrams, this second edition teaches its readers hands-on skills in a very organized and pragmatic style. The text reviews several core concepts in its topical domains, ranging from foundations of clinical and research ethics, practical ethics problem solving, codes of conduct, and ethics concerns in professional training. In addition, this book also addresses several common professional and ethics questions that arise in mental health settings that are familiar to forensic psychiatrists, such as evaluating medical decision-making capacity and involuntary commitment and treatment.
Reflective of real-life complex clinical practice challenges, this book teaches medical ethics utilizing illustrative case vignettes that not only engage readers but also build their comprehension and reasoning. Finally, well-structured questions test readers knowledge and challenge their ability to engage in ethics reasoning.
With its many different interactive and knowledge applied components, this book undoubtedly offers an exceptional opportunity to prepare readers to master professional and ethics processes in mental health. I highly recommend this second edition of Professionalism and Ethics for novices as well as experienced clinicians who must navigate successfully today’s many challenging complexities in the field of mental health. In addition, this book can serve as an excellent teaching tool in a medical ethics course.
Footnotes
Disclosures of financial or other potential conflicts of interest: None.
- © 2022 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
