On April 2nd student groups from CEDG and Cardiology had a discussion about how the historical development of the artificial heart and other means of mechanical circulatory support (MCS) inform contemporary practice and of the ethical issues that follow from such technologic advancement. The Center thanks its CEDG leadership, Tyler Clay and Mark Baumgarten, for their excellent CEDG leadership this year.

Helen Cooney, Former Heart Mate (Artificial Heart) Team Member shared about her work with patients and teams around the first artificial heart.  Liz Sonntag, MD, MICU Fellow, and HEC Member, discussed the ethical issues that arise in today’s use of MCS  based in part on her work editing an upcoming edition of AMA Journal of Ethics devoted to that topic.

Eric Juengst was a featured expert on the potential pitfalls of gene editing in The New York Time’s article  “One Day There May Be a Drug to Turbocharge the Brain. Who Should Get It?” by Carl Zimmer.

“Beyond Our Beginnings:  50 Years of Bioethics“.

We are hosting it at the Mews location at the  Graylyn International Conference Center

In recognition of the Hastings Center’s 50th anniversary, this conference surveys the past, present, and future of bioethics scholarship, practice, and policy. The program addresses a broad range of issues and topics, including medical and research ethics, health disparities and health equity, health law, policy, and financing, and the history and philosophy of bioethics. It features internationally renowned senior scholars in bioethics from the Southeast and Midatlantic regions whose work has shaped the field. They will reflect on where we have been and where we should be going.

Registration is free but required. Space is limited. Register here: https://wfu.cvent.com/d/6gq5md/

For the complete Conference program, see: http://bioethics.wfu.edu/conference-area/

Panel Session 3 – Research Ethics
Panelists:
Eric T. Juengst, PhD (UNC School of Medicine)
Nancy M. P. King, JD (Wake Forest School of Medicine)
Christine Grady, MSN, PhD (NIH Clinical Center)
Moderator: Ana Iltis, PhD (Wake Forest University)

Panel Session 4 – Disparities & Health Equity
Panelists:
Paul Lombardo, JD, PhD (Georgia State University School of Law)
Margaret Humphreys, MD, PhD (Duke University)
Patricia King, JD (Georgetown University School of Law)
Moderator: Rebecca Walker, PhD (University of North Carolina School of Medicine)

Rethinking Bed Rest For Pregnancy

“The bottom line is that there’s never been any proven benefit of bed rest,” says Dr. Anne Drapkin Lyerly, an OB-GYN and professor of bioethics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Lyerly and colleagues in 2013 did a review of the scientific research on bed rest as it relates to a variety of conditions, from early contractions to high blood pressure to carrying twins. They found no benefit.

HEC Members Rimma Osipov, Sara Scarlet, and Gary Winzelberg participated in the 1st Annual UNC Story Slam. Story Slam began as a wellness event sponsored by the Annals of Internal Medicine at the annual meeting for the American College of Physicians. The aim: to provide a supportive venue for physicians to share the inspiring stories that make a career in medicine meaningful. With the support of the Annals editorial staff, Dick Wardrop, med-peds faculty member  and Rimma Osipov, resident in Internal Medicine, partnered with the organizers of the Sheldon Resident Research Day to bring this event to the UNC campus.  Stories were recorded and will be submitted to the Annals of Internal Medicine website, where they will be considered for publication.

On October 16th our 4 students taking the Clinical Ethics MS4 Elective presented their final projects. These projects are intended to become resources for the HEC and reflect the students’ interests as they prepare for residency next year.

The Presentation topics include:

• Julia Whitley – Considerations around “elective” C sections
• Max Nagle – Proxy decision making in the ICU setting
• Sam Robin – Emerging Capacity: Issues for Older Minors and Young Adults
• Jake Bowling –  Incidental Findings: Comparisons for Radiology and Genomics

Registration for the workshop will open in early 2019.

Mark Baumgarten and Tyler Clay will join the Clinical Ethics Discussion Group as student leaders, and the Hospital Ethics Committee as student members, in January 2019. Center for Bioethics faculty members Arlene Davis and Eric Juengst are advisors to the student group and Arlene Davis co-chairs the Hospital Ethics Committee.

Mark Baumgarten grew up in a small town in Northeast Ohio. Over the last ten years, he has lived in Charlotte or Chapel Hill, completing his UNC-CH undergraduate degree in 2016. Although Mark ultimately majored in biology, he completed a number of ethics-related courses. During the past 2 years, working as an emergency ambulance responder in Charlotte, he routinely encountered difficult ethical dilemmas that contribute to his current interests. Mark looks forward to his work on the Hospital Ethics Committee as a way to advocate for fair and ethical treatment of all patients. Outside of school, he is an avid outdoor sports enthusiast. In addition to his love of hiking, camping, and running Mark also worked as a professional whitewater rafting guide at the U.S. National Whitewater Center.

Tyler Clay looks forward to his service on the Hospital Ethics Committee as an opportunity to participate in tangible patient advocacy while also learning strategies necessary to provide effective and patient-centered care. He is a life-long North Carolina resident from Concord and a 2016 UNC-CH, studying French Literature and Biology. Following graduation, Tyler spent a year in Limoges, France teaching English in a science and technical high school. Upon his return, he worked as a Nutrition Coach in an integrative primary care and wellness clinic in Charlotte. Tyler continues to pursue his interests in French literature and especially representations of medicine in literature and film.

“Government Policy Experiments and the Ethics of Randomization”

November 8–9, 2018

A Conference of Applied Ethics and Critical Social Sciences
Carleton University
Ottawa, Canada

The Public Issues and Public Reason (PIPR) conference is a multidisciplinary conference at which graduate students from a variety of programmes and disciplines present work that addresses current social and global challenges through the lenses of applied ethics, political theory, and the critical social sciences.