Hospital-based Medicine
Diversity and Inclusion
Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
Community Pediatrics
Clinical Bioethics
Children with Chronic Conditions
Health Equity/Social Determinants of Health
General Pediatrics
Cross-Disciplinary Pathway
Critical Care
Advocacy Pathway
Adolescent Medicine
Catherine Shubkin, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States
Rebecca Benson, MD PhD
Pediatric Palliative Care and Bioethics
Pediatrics
University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa, United States
Chris Feudtner, MD PhD MPH
Professor of Pediatrics, Medical Ethics and Health Policy
CHOP
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Parents of children with complex medical needs are sometimes faced with the difficult task of making decisions about medical interventions with often unknown short- and long-term care implications. For instance, the decision to place a tracheostomy for a child with severe developmental disabilities may present such ethical questions as: What might care look like for my child and can this care be accomplished at home? What might my child’s life and death look like? Would this intervention cause or prevent suffering? What effect would the decision have on family members and family life? Parents face these questions and make these decisions with clinicians, usually pediatric physicians, at their side but often these clinicians are unsure of how best to guide and support parents. This Ethics SIG session will highlight parental experiences toward the goal of educating clinicians on how to best guide families through the challenging decisions they may face.
Agenda:
• Opening Remarks and Winning Ethics Essays (Becky Benson): 9:00-9:20 am
• Participant Introductions (Erica Salter)
• Parent/Family Story #1 (Jenny): 9:20-9:30 am
• Parent/Family Story #2 (Anna): 9:30-9:40 am
• Interview with Parents (Chris Feudtner): 9:40-10:15 am
• Concluding thoughts (Blyth Lord, Courageous Parents Network): 10:15-10:35 am
• Audience Q&A (Cathy Shubkin): 10:35-11:00 am