Medical students after graduation take the well known Hippocratic Oath. Hippocrates may be regarded as one of the founders of medical ethics. There have been many books which deal with the topic of medical ethics. How does this book differ from the rest? The book uses a large number of case scenarios to introduce and deal with ethical issues. I personally think that this book is more directly concerned with medical practice than others. The book is written in simple, easily readable language. The production values are excellent and the book is attractive and exciting to read. 

Modern medicine is extremely complex and can give rise to complicated ethical decisions. The introduction is through cases and immediately grips the reader. The use of boxes to highlight important points, chapter objectives and conclusions aids the assimilation of information.

Chapter one deals with the principal features of medical ethics. Each chapter starts with a colour photograph of a doctor patient encounter which sets the stage for the discussion to follow. The objectives of each chapter are set out right at the beginning. The first chapter has an interesting section on how do individuals think what to do and how they weigh options.

The non-rational and the rational approaches are described. This is an approach which does not feature in other books. Obedience, imitation, intuition and habits are the non rational approaches while deontology, consequentialism, principalism and virtue ethics are the rational approaches.  

The second chapter deals with Physicians and Patients. Decision making for incompetent patients and confidentiality are two important issues. Beginning of life and end of life issues has been exhaustively covered. 

The next chapter deals with physicians and society. Issues of dual loyalty (loyalty to the patient and to society), resource allocation, public health, and global health are some of the issues covered. The fourth chapter deals with physicians and colleagues. The section on conflict resolution is important for all doctors.    

The important topic of Ethics and Medical Research is dealt with in detail. With the rapid growth of the clinical research industry in South Asia most doctors may become involved in clinical research. The ethics review committees, informed consent, and whistle blowing are among the many issues covered.

The sixth chapter is the conclusion. Being a keen trekker I especially liked the photo of a man hiking up a steep incline. The appendices are very informative. Appendix A has a glossary of terms, while appendix B deals with medical ethics resources on the internet. Appendix C deals with global standards for quality improvement in basic medical education with special reference to medical ethics, appendix D outlines strengthening ethics teaching in medical schools while appendix E details some additional case studies. The book ends with a description of sites which contain additional case studies.

The small size ensures that the book will fit in the coat pocket of doctors. The book is produced by the World Medical Association (WMA) which is the global representative of physicians. The book has been reviewed and commented upon by authors in many countries

The book would be very useful to medical students, doctors in training, practicing doctors and medical educators interested in teaching ethics to medical students. The book will familiarize the reader with the principal features of medical ethics and will help him/her to ethically deal with patients, society, colleagues and conduct research in an ethical manner. This book can serve as a brief introduction and can stimulate the interested reader to seek more information on this topic.