Synopsis

In this updated edition of a classic text, May presents the overarching images that shape the convictions and daily practice of the physician. Instead of using the typical procedures and quandaries that are the focal points of many books on ethics, he explores how the moral power of these images aid in understanding the healer and in defining his or her tasks. In this volume May updates his reflections on the five images of the healer: parent, fighter, technician, teacher, and covenanter. This edition also contains new material on the ethics of access to health care, genetic technologies, and physician-assisted suicide.

At a time when medical professionals are questioning their own roles, May supports ethical understanding based on moral reflection. His use of these images helps shape and order experience, presenting the practitioner with imperatives by which to live. This book will challenge physicians, students, and teachers of medical ethics to reach a deeper understanding of the physician's place in society.

Biography

William F. May is Cary M. Maguire Professor Emeritus at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, Texas. He is the author of The Patient's Ordeal and Testing the Medical Covenant.