Ethics asks the question, how should we live?
Thus, the study of ethics is the study of what is morally good and bad— what humans ought to do, both individually and as part of society. Ethics informs practical decision making and the standards by which human actions are judged as right or wrong.
Does ethics matter in surgery?
Surgery is not just a technical endeavor, but a moral one. The decisions that surgeons make have a lasting and often permanent impact on patient care and outcomes. The questions of how should we live and what ought we to do are essential to the work of surgeons.
Ethics informs every component of a surgeon’s daily practice: decision making in and out of the operating room, developing relationships with patients, maintaining well-being, and discovering meaning and purpose in their work. A robust understanding of surgical ethics is not only necessary, but critical, to be a good surgeon.
Our mission
The mission of the WashU Center for Humanism and Ethics in Surgical Subspecialties (CHESS) is to equip surgeons with a unique skillset in the pursuit and practice of good surgical care within modern medicine and health care delivery. Through education, research, and professional development, CHESS is committed to exploring the complexities of clinical surgical ethics, supporting the surgeon-patient relationship, and promoting flourishing of trainees and surgeons in their professional and personal lives.
CHESS is committed to addressing the complex ethical challenges that arise in surgical practice, including:
- Informed consent
- Surgical innovation and technology
- Goals of care
- Palliative care and end of life care
- Surgical care delivery and access
- Error disclosure
- Surgeon-patient communication
- Trust
- Professional identity and regulation
- Surgeon flourishing
- Trauma-specific ethics
- Transplant-specific ethics
CHESS was founded in 2019 and is supported by The Barbara and Ira J. Kodner, MD, Endowed Fund for Surgical Ethics, established at The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital.