Ethical dilemmas in hematologic/oncologic emergencies.

Clinicians use ethical decision making in their practice by applying professional and societal values in an organized way to solve moral dilemmas. Moral dilemmas are those situations in which a decision must be made between conflicting goods or evils or rights or wrongs. Clinicians must understand the medical profession's and society's values and be able to apply them within ethical systems. This article describes those values, basic ethical systems, a rapid ethical decision-making model, and specific ethical dilemmas faced by emergency physicians who treat patients with hematologic and oncologic emergencies.