Four experienced panelists offer behind-the-scenes views of how one bioethics mediation team handles converging medical, legal, and emotional factors of thorny dilemmas like these:
~ an advanced Alzheimer’s patient never wanted to be dependent on artificial life-sustaining methods. Can his family withhold them?
~ religious strictures lead a patient to resist recommended treatments. What is the health care provider’s responsibility?
~ the parents of a young woman with a life-threatening illness can’t agree on a course of immediate treatment. How can they be helped towards a decision?
~ a cancer patient hasn’t responded to standard treatments. An experimental drug promises better results but is unproven. Can the patient and family make an informed choice?
~ the family of a terminally ill patient doesn’t grasp doctors’ repeated explanations and keeps asking the same questions repeatedly. Who can help them understand?
The panelists are
- Nancy Dubler, LLB, Professor of Bioethics & Director, Division of Bioethics, Montefiore Medical Center
- Gary Kalkut, MD, Vice President & Senior Medical Director, Montefiore Medical Center
- Carol B. Liebman, Clinical Professor, Columbia Law School; co-author “Bioethics Mediation” (2004); Director, Columbia Law School Mediation Clinic
- Lynn Richmond, NP, Director of Clinical Affairs, Montefiore Medical Center
DATE: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
TIME: 6 pm to 8 pm (doors open 5:45. No reserved seats)
PLACE: Science Industry and Business Library
Madison Avenue between East 34 and East 35 Streets
ADMISSION: complimentary
RSVP: by January 18. Carol Milano milano@nasw.org
