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“Wait, I’m a Research Subject?”

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Bioethics, Public Health, and the Social Sciences for the Medical Professions

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Abstract

In this chapter, we will explore a case involving a resident physician who, upon arriving at her new residency, discovers that she is enrolled in a multicenter, randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effect of resident work-hour restrictions on patient outcomes. By the conclusion of the case, learners will be able to apply study design and basic research principles to a complex question, articulate why failure to perform research that produces valid and reliable results is as much an ethical problem as a scientific one, analyze a research study that poses ethical issues, and recognize some of the obligations and barriers to “speaking up” in the health professions.

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Further Reading on This Topic

  • Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative. Basic course in human subjects research [Internet]. Fort Lauderdale (FL): CITI Program. Available from: https://about.citiprogram.org/en/homepage/.

  • Ofri D. Singular intimacies: becoming a doctor at Bellevue. Boston (MA): Beacon Press; 2009.

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  • Rothman DJ. Strangers at the bedside: a history of how law and bioethics transformed medical decision making. New York: Routledge; 2017.

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Acknowledgments

This case was adapted from an earlier case written by Amy Caruso Brown and was inspired by the FIRST and iCOMPARE trials cited in this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Bioethics and Humanities, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Gregory L. Eastwood

Authors
  1. Gregory L. Eastwood
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Correspondence to Gregory L. Eastwood .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Bioethics and Humanities and Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Amy E. Caruso Brown

  2. Departments of Pediatrics and Public Health and Preventive Medicine, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Travis R. Hobart

  3. Department of Interprofessionalism, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, VA, USA

    Cynthia B. Morrow

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Eastwood, G.L. (2019). “Wait, I’m a Research Subject?”. In: Caruso Brown, A., Hobart, T., Morrow, C. (eds) Bioethics, Public Health, and the Social Sciences for the Medical Professions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03544-0_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03544-0_20

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-03543-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-03544-0

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