The Medical Ethic: Medicine as a Social Science (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798901242209)

The author, an awarded physician, educator, and medical software designer, describes in philosophical depth and technical detail the creative process of medical decision making, and the humanistic foundation that it serves. This clarifies the relationship between the art and the science of medicine, and it establishes medicine as a social science that uses the physical sciences creatively for its deeper humanistic agenda - that the author calls the medical ethic.

Dr. Russell Noblett, MD: After graduating with honors in philosophy at North Texas University in 1982, Dr. Noblett completed an MD degree at the University of Texas, and Internal Medicine residency at the University of Virginia. Thereafter he practiced hospital and geriatrics medicine for thirty years, including serving as attending for the UVA internal medicine residency, lecturing on HIV infection, as director of the Salem VAMC ER, and as VP of the Virginia Geriatrics Society, conducting conferences in palliative care. As a delegate of the Virginia Society of Medicine to the state legislature he argued for passage of the Affordable Care Act. In 2000 he designed the first online EMR for free clinics, used by 50 clinics throughout the US.

"Dr Noblett takes on big questions, transcending the merely clinical, to explore what the practice of medicine means to physicians, to patients, and to society. What's the nature of medical decision making? Where do the medical arts fit within the context of social institutions and humanistic endeavors? Where within the scientific, technical, and intuitive skills of the practitioner does he or she find meaning? The author merges professional anecdotes with science and philosophy to weave a unified theory of medical ethics. The depth and breadth of Dr. Noblett's insights cannot be overstated. Recommended for current or aspiring physicians as well as anyone interested in the dynamics of modern healthcare."

- Dale Hartley, PhD

"What does it mean to care for the patient? How does an evolved consciousness about care translate for the patient and for the community? We don't ask these question often enough in medical settings. With all that is happening in the world, it is refreshing to find a physician who has studied philosophy and practiced medicine long term. Such an orientation can speak eloquently and meaningfully to the most fundamental aspects of the doctor-patient relationship, which is what Dr. Noblett does in this challenging meditation. This is a book like no other."

- Carmella Santorelli, author of Myth of the Fireflies