 "Photo: Dr. Lisa Anderson-Shaw")
Last week was the first-ever Ethics and Jurisprudence Week at the College of Medicine. Organized by Drs. Lisa Anderson-Shaw, Director of Clinical Ethics Consult Service, Jay Goldstein, Vice Head for Clinical Affairs and Fred Zar, Vice Head of Education, the lecture series was designed to raise awareness of ethical issues in medicine.
Every day at noon, over a hundred medical professionals, resident physicians and interested people gathered together in Student Center West to refine their ethical decision-making skills. Monday's topic was "Cultural Issues and Religious Differences at End of Life"; Tuesday's was "Evidence-Based Medicine and Informed Consent; Hot Topics in Research Ethics and Oversight"; Wednesday's was "Legal Issues in Medicine: How to Stay Out of Court"; Thursday's was "The Clinical, Legal, and Ethical Status of Medical Futility in Illinois"; Friday's was "Your Role in Patient Safety."
Given the increasing number of medical lawsuits and growing public awareness of ethical dilemmas in medicine (fueled by shows like Gray's Anatomy and advances in medicine), this series of lectures and presentations from experts in diverse yet relevant fields ranging from law to priesthood comes not a moment too soon. According to Dr. Goldstein, "The purpose in putting this program together was twofold: first, to educate our physicians and trainees regarding the importance of ethical considerations in the day-to-day practice of medicine; [second,] to improve the day-to-day operations and incorporate our trainees in the ongoing process at the university hospital." In other words, he says, "We want to educate and apply."
Application of the principles presented on each of the days was certainly kept in mind in designing the event. Dr. Anderson-Shaw says that the scheduling of the events every day at noon allowed for "some very good continuity. People could listen to a lecture one day and get some ethical principles that day that could apply the next day."
"Each of the topics was chosen because of the importance of discussing the issues among clinical staff," says Anderson-Shaw.
The goal of the program is not to teach doctors what decisions to make to stay out of moral trouble but instead to help facilitate and structure their thinking by the framework of ethics. "Sometimes, the law can help answer many questions[…] but there are so many areas of discretion, especially with ethical issues, that it doesn't answer." As a result, the seminars do not promote specific codes but encourage the practice of generally helpful principles, such as good communication (useful in physician-family interactions) and interdisciplinary thinking.
With concepts increasingly vital to the medical field such as generality, diverse thinking, and applicability as organizing factors in the successful Ethics and Jurisprudence Week, Dr. Anderson-Shaw's hope that this "was the first annual Ethics and Jurisprudence Week" is certainly justified.
The event was made possible by the Dr. H.I. Davis Memorial Lecture Fund with support by the UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) Award Number UL1RR029879 from the National Center For Research Resources.
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