Justice and triage in military medical ethics: A brief report.

Abstract

The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma Military Liaison Committee held the second Military Fallen Surgeons Educational Symposium in conjunction with the 2024 American Association for the Surgery of Trauma meeting, which once again included an ethics segment. This case-based session guided discussion of complex and unique ethical challenges that arise in military medical practice when in a deployed environment. Central themes included justice in triage, beneficence versus nonbeneficial care, dual agency, and moral injury. In preparation for the conflicts of the future, we must both build on our collective experience and focus on education, innovation, and peer support for young providers who may experience similar situations. It is critical to learn from the problems that have been encountered in order to rise to the challenge of those we may not yet fathom.