Personal narrative and an African-American perspective on medical ethics

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in how medical professionals develop and articulate a moral foundation on which to base a way of leading their professional lives. In this essay, however, the author focuses more narrowly on how black physicians do it. The author explains that black physicians confront a unique set of circumstances and experiences that define reality for black doctors and other professionals from non-dominant groups in the United States. From this particular background, black physicians go on to develop a unique perspective on medical ethics. The author uses his own narrative to demonstrate his argument and to show its application to a current debate on the ethics of forensic psychiatry practice.