Identifying and resolving conflicts in clinical practice

Richard Huxtable
ByRichard Huxtable
Published04 March 2022
Conflict can arise in many forms and for many different reasons, so here's some expert ethical advice on how to handle it when it occurs.
Photo credit: iStock

Given the nature of the decisions to be made, including around providing or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment, the stakes can be high - and so too can the emotions of those involved.

This page was correct at publication on 04/03/2022. Any guidance is intended as general guidance for members only. If you are a member and need specific advice relating to your own circumstances, please contact one of our advisers.

Richard Huxtable

<p>Richard Huxtable is professor of medical ethics and law at the University of Bristol, where he directs the <a href=\"http://www.bristol.ac.uk/population-health-sciences/centres/ethics/\" target=\"_blank\">Centre for Ethics in Medicine</a>, in the Medical School. His research concerns end-of-life decision-making, surgical ethics, and clinical ethics. His eight books include <a href=\"https://www.routledge.com/Law-Ethics-and-Compromise-at-the-Limits-of-Life-To-Treat-or-not-to-Treat/Huxtable/p/book/9780415492805\" target=\"_blank\">Law, Ethics and Compromise at the Limits of Life: To Treat or Not to Treat?</a> (Routledge, 2012) and he leads the Wellcome Trust collaborative project, <a href=\"http://www.bristol.ac.uk/population-health-sciences/centres/ethics/research/babel/\" target=\"_blank\">Balancing Best Interests in Healthcare, Ethics and Law</a> (BABEL).</p><p>Richard has served on various ethics committees, including those of the BMA and the RCGP, and he chairs the <a href=\"http://www.ukcen.net/\" target=\"_blank\">UK Clinical Ethics Network</a>. </p><p>Twitter: <a href=\"https://twitter.com/ProfRHuxtable\" target=\"_blank\">@ProfRHuxtable</a></p>

Harleen Johal

Harleen Kaur Johal is a junior doctor and PhD candidate in the Centre for Ethics in Medicine at the University of Bristol. Her research explores <a href=\"http://www.bristol.ac.uk/critical-study\" target=\"_blank\">conflict resolution in the adult intensive care unit</a>, specifically focusing on disagreements that arise in &lsquo;best interests' decision making.</p><p style=\"margin: 12pt 0cm;\">Her PhD is supported by the Wellcome Trust as part of the <a href=\"http://www.bristol.ac.uk/population-health-sciences/centres/ethics/research/babel/\" target=\"_blank\">Balancing Best Interests in Healthcare, Ethics and Law</a> (BABEL) project. Harleen has worked in intensive care and with local and regional clinical ethics advisory groups, during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>Twitter: <a href=\"https://twitter.com/harleen_johal\" target=\"_blank\">@harleen_johal</a></p>

Identifying and resolving conflicts in clinical practice