Edited by T K Kushner, D C Thomasma. Cambridge University Press, 2001, £18.95, pp 265. ISBN 0-521-66452-7

Kushner and Thomasma have assembled a distinguished group of contributors who are almost all practising clinicians with an interest in medical ethics. The book is well laid out and is divided into two main parts: part one “On caring for patients” and part two “On becoming a `team player’: searching for esprit de corps and conflicts of socialization”. This is a convenient way to think about medical ethics. Part one covers the ethical dilemmas of doctors caring for patients and the many practical problems that arise; this area of medical ethics is what most doctors would consider to be “true” medical ethics. Many doctors would not consider part two to be medical ethics at …