Departmental Rounds
The Center for Bioethics brings bioethics experts from around the country to present at regularly scheduled departmental grand rounds. In the 2004-05 academic year Dr. Rosamond Rhodes from Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York presented “Refusing Patient Requests: Personal Morality & Professional Responsibility” to the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, and Dr. Laurence McCullough from Baylor College of Medicine presented “Ethically Justified Limits on Resuscitation in the Emergency Department” to the Department of Emergency Medicine.
For information about ongoing Departmental Rounds contact Pamela Galowitz (pgalowitz@partners.org ).
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Unit-Based Rounds
The Center runs a regular program of unit-based ethics rounds in the hospital’s intensive care units. These are “walk” rounds where a multidisciplinary team has an opportunity to meet with an ethicist and discuss difficult or troubling cases. The ethicist works with staff to help anticipate potential areas of concern and helps activate necessary support resources at the earliest possible point in a patient’s care.
The following general themes have been addressed at unit-based ethics rounds:
- The ethical implications of moving forward with high-risk surgery
- Identifying appropriate surrogate decision-makers for incompetent patients
- Managing decisional conflict among family members
- Communication bad news to patients and family members
- Managing and responding to cultural differences
- Decision making around withdrawing or withholding medical treatment
- Determining when to request an ethics consultation
- Managing conflict within a patient’s treatment team
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Compassionate Care Rounds
Compassionate Care Rounds provide a facilitated forum where nurses come together with a chaplain, a nurse manager and a nurse ethicist to discuss difficult aspects of clinical practice. Themes raised in Compassionate Care Rounds include:
- Patient advocacy, especially around choices to limit treatment
- Managing the emotional issues involved in long-term involvement with patients
- The difficulties involved in caring for dying family members of colleagues
- Challenges in successful team coordination
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Fellowship program
The Center for Bioethics welcomed its first Ethics Fellow in the 2005-06 academic year. The Ethics Fellowship is a two-year program that combines clinical practice with bioethics research and training in clinical ethics consultation. For more information about the program contact the Center's Director, Dr. Lisa Lehmann (llehmann1@partners.org ).
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Other Educational Opportunities in Ethics
The Center for Bioethics serves as a resource to BWH staff interested in learning more about bioethics. Please contact Pamela Galowitz (pgalowitz@partners.org) to be added to the Center’s e-mail distribution list for announcements of ethics-related events and programs such as those noted below.
Courses and Seminars at Harvard Medical School
The Center for Bioethics at BWH is closely linked with the Division of Medical Ethics (DME) at Harvard Medical School (HMS). The two programs co-sponsor departmental ethics rounds at BWH and other HMS teaching hospitals, and the DME sponsors courses, seminars and lectures in ethics at Harvard Medical School. All of these events are open to BWH staff.
In June and September of each year the DME organizes a two-day intensive bioethics course. Affiliates of the Center for Bioethics are strongly encouraged to attend this course, which is open to all BWH staff. For more information and registration material contact Pamela Galowitz at the Center for Bioethics (pgalowitz@partners.org).
Ethics Rounds at Other Harvard Teaching Hospitals
Ethics Rounds at neighboring Harvard teaching hospitals are open to all BWH staff. Contact Pamela Galowitz for more information (pgalowitz@partners.org).
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