The ethics committee of a psychiatric college: its procedures and themes.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Ethics committees (ECs) of medical colleges and other medical associations have become part of their professional experience only in recent years. This is probably attributable to such factors as greater professional accountability and informed consumerism. Relatively little is known about the procedures and agendas of such committees. The aim of the present study was to examine the EC of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, with respect to its practices, in order to learn how a medical college grapples with ethical concerns. METHODS: Two members of the College's EC, including its foundation chairman, assembled relevant documents, and subjected them to de..