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As the AMA's Ethics and Medico-Legal Committee (EMLC) is currently updating the AMA policy on ethical considerations for medical practitioners in disaster response, the issue of ethical duties and acceptable personal risk of harm is increasingly at the forefront of discussions.

This recording of the AMA Online National Conference Day 1 session examines a range of ethical issues related to doctors’ risk of personal harm in disaster situations with the following questions addressed.

1. Doctors were once willing (and expected) to put their own lives on the line to care for their patients but do the younger generation of doctors adhere to this same ethos or has there been a cultural shift over time within the profession?
2. Is it fair to expect doctors to continue to put themselves (and potentially their families) at personal risk of significant harm or death to care for patients?
3. Who decides what level of risk is ‘acceptable’? ‘Acceptable’ to whom – the profession, the community, employers?
4. How should doctors who do not accept such a risk be treated?
5. How should the community reciprocate in supporting the medical profession?

Learning Outcomes

1. Develop a broad understanding of the issues facing doctors in the 2021 COVID-19 environment
2. List factors that potentially put doctors' lives at risk in the COVID-19 environment.