2012 Pediatric Bioethics Conference

The Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Children's Hospital hosted its eighth annual pediatric bioethics conference, "The Thin Ethical Line: When Professional Boundaries and Personal Interests Collide," on July 27 and 28, 2012, in Seattle. The conference featured nationally recognized speakers in bioethics, and drew more than 200 participants from across the nation and around the world.

Videos and PDFs of the presentations are posted below.

2012 Bioethics Conference

The Thin Ethical Line: When Professional Boundaries and Personal Interests Collide

Healthcare providers have professional responsibilities to care for their patients. Yet, physicians, nurses, social workers, and trainees face daily choices when their professional responsibilities are not congruent with personal interests, beliefs and values. How should providers navigate these boundaries? We will explore these issues as we discuss the ethical concerns that may arise when personal interests and values challenge traditional professional responsibilities.

• Can healthcare professionals conscientiously object to providing certain kinds of healthcare services?
• Should healthcare providers perform procedures or prescribe medications to family members?
• Is it ever acceptable for healthcare professionals to lie on behalf of their patients?
• Is it OK to ask patients to sign a political petition in the office or hospital setting?
• Should health care professionals become "friends" with their patients or their patients' parents on Facebook?
• Should healthcare professionals engage with families in non-medical settings or accept gifts or invitations to personal events?

Presentations

Friday, July 27, 2012

Challenging the Professionalism Movement 
Lainie Friedman Ross, MD, PhD
Video  

A Conversation About Boundaries in Medicine 
Douglas Diekema, MD, MPH, Moderator
Norman Fost, Kellie Lang, John Lantos, Lainie Friedman Ross, Robert Truog  

Panel and Questions
Douglas Diekema, MD, MPH, Moderator
Norman Fost, Kellie Lang, John Lantos, Lainie Friedman Ross, Robert Truog

From Friends to "Friending": The Impact of Social Networking on Physician-Patient Boundaries
Jennifer Kesselheim, MD, MBE, MEd
Video  

Regaining a Trusted Relationship in the Time of Twitter: Doctors and Patients in the Blogosphere 
Wendy Sue Swanson, MD, MBE
Video  

Can Doctors and Patients Be "Friends"? 
John Lantos, MD
Video  

Panel and Questions
Holly Tabor, PhD, Moderator
Jennifer Kesselheim, John Lantos, Wendy Sue Swanson

Physician, Patient, Parent: Where Exactly Is the Line? 
Douglas Opel, MD, MPH
Video  

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Conscientious Objection in Pediatrics: To Accommodate or Not to Accommodate?
Mark Wicclair, PhD
Video  

Transforming Moral Distress into Healing: Personal and Institutional Strategies 
Cynda Hylton Rushton, PhD, RN, FAAN
Video  

Youth Boxing, Parental Refusals of Immunization and Standing on Principle: The Case for Principled Compromise in Pediatric Practice
Douglas Diekema, MD, MPH
Video  

Panel and Questions 
Maureen Kelley, PhD, Moderator
Douglas Diekema, Mithya Lewis-Newby, Cynda Rushton, Mark Wicclair

Presentations of Submitted Papers  

Conscientious Refusals to Refer: Findings from a National Physician Survey 
Ryan Antiel, MA, MD
Video  

Navigating Contentious Cases in the Public Eye 
Rebecca Bruni, RN, PhD
Video  

Is It Ever Acceptable for Healthcare Providers to Lie on Behalf of Their Patients? It Can Be, at Least on Paper 
Alex Okun, MD
Video  

A Colleague's Child in the Hospital Setting 
Donald Brunnquell, MA, PhD
Video