Ethics in medicine is of great importance. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has determined that Professionalism (including ethics) should be a core competency requirement in resident education. Anesthesiologists will be involved in situations where sound knowledge of ethics principles will be of value in guiding appropriate patient care and coordination of that care. In this report we highlight the importance of patient autonomy and justice, the need for understanding ethics principles, and the value of the formal education of our residents in ethics.