Biomedical Ethics for Engineers: Ethics and Decision Making in Biomedical and Biosystem Engineering

Abstract

Author: Daniel A. Vallero, Publisher: Elsevier, ISBN: 13-978-0-7506-8227-5, Publication date: 2007, Pages: 408, Price: $49.95The text is written, interestingly, from the standpoint of an ethicist hoping for the reader to imbibe the concepts as important aspects in biomedical ethics. Confused yet? My introductory statement is written in that fashion for a reason: Similar to the book, it at times uses terminology that will have you reaching for your dictionary. This by itself is not a bad thing, and is not intended to be a tick against the text but rather an observation, for at times it does hinder the readability.Audience: For an engineer primarily focused on the research and development phases of biomedical or medical engineering practices, Biomedical Ethics for Engineers may not only be quite useful but also provides insight into how to go about making certain ethical decisions—at least decisions that will fall in line with the ethics set forth by the author.For the biomedical or clinical engineer engaged in the day-to-day management and maintenance of medical technologies, the book may be of significantly less use—keep in mind, however, that this is not the target audience. The book does in fact provide direction to help those for whom it is written—at minimum a compass to help lead in the right direction of some rather difficult ethical decisions that are faced in biomedical labs across the United States and abroad.Features: The author quite effectively uses different types of subsections throughout the text. One such subsection, coined “Teachable Moments,” allows the author to stop the discussion and take a step back, asking questions that lead the ethical discussion and potential for resolution. While we as engineers can be very ethical and moral, we can also at times get hyper-focused on the problem(s) at hand and may overlook certain aspects that play into “the big picture” that our decisions directly impact.Another tool that the author uses is discussion boxes in which he again takes a step back, this time by testing or quizzing. The author puts situations to theory, providing a more practical method of observance. These discussion boxes provide further insight, justification, and clarification to many of the concepts, especially those that are more abstract and difficult to fully control, such as the measurement of technological success versus ethical success.Assessment: While reading through the text, a number of different ideas came to the forefront that, as an engineer, I found interesting. First, the key points made by the author, an ethicist, are supported by other ethicists. At times the author seemed to assume that engineers and scientists are driven by the science and therefore lack a moral or ethical compass of their own. Quite to the contrary, some of the most ethically driven individuals I have come across have been engineers. Engineers are trained to be “problem” solvers: a good engineer systematically breaks down a problem and then looks at both the problem(s) and solution(s). This aspect of the text in many ways made it difficult for me to connect with the lessons being made—not to say that I disagreed with them—because from the outset I felt as though I was being lectured by the author and his fellow ethicists.The author teeters between separation from and inclusion with the engineering practices and engineers he discusses. As the reader, and an engineer, it is more difficult to absorb the lessons because at times it seems almost as if the text was written for ethical debate and discussion rather than to further the engineer's understanding of the fundamental ethical concepts and arguments that underlie many medical and biomedical scientific concepts. While I may not be a supporter of the methods the author has chosen to bring across his various lessons, he has developed a concise and well-thought text.For the engineer finding him or herself in the research and development of medical and biomedical technologies or sciences, this book is a solid compass. While it has its shortcomings—as all texts of this nature will—it provides ample direction, methodology and theory to provide a solid basis for an unfamiliar engineer to discuss, analyze and seek out resolution to various ethical dilemmas associated with the biomedical sciences.