Joanna, a psychiatrist, has a busy clinical practice. She is widely recognized as a leader in reducing the number of psychotic episodes that patients with schizophrenia experience. Her treatment modalities are largely informed by her research. She has performed numerous clinical trial studies combining various antipsychotic and other medications to achieve longer intervals without episodes. She has cultivated a trusting relationship with her patients as many have seen her for more than five years as she has provide hope and relief to a great number of them.

Joanna is enrolling participants into a randomized placebo-controlled study with a promising new drug to treat schizophrenia. Although two other psychiatrists in her practice are referring patients to the study, she also decides to offer the protocol to patients in her practice that meet the inclusion criteria.

Questions:

How many different kinds of conflicts of interest does Joanna have?

How concerned should she be that her patient(s) might not grasp the risks of participating in a drug trial?

In your own words, what is a therapeutic misconception?

What do you think motivates patients like Duncan to respond "Whatever you think is best"?

Should clinical researchers be allowed to enroll their own patients in a study?