2021

February 2, 2021

From Altar to Table:  My Journey as Priest and Surgeon

Daniel Hall, MD, MDiv, MHSc
Associate Professor of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh
Medical Director, High Risk Outcomes, Wolff Center at UPMC

From a young age, Hall found himself called into both the church and the hospital. Now a general surgeon and an ordained Episcopal priest, he studies the rich intersection of medicine and theology. In this talk, he will describe how he pursued a bi-vocational career that is personally and professionally satisfying. He will demonstrate how medicine can contribute to a richer notion of human flourishing.

March 2, 2021

CRISPR: Ethics and Jewish Law

Rabbi Doniel Schon
Associate Dean, Kollel Jewish Learning Center

David Finegold
Professor of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh

The CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technique allows DNA to be cut at a specific location, to permit disabling or replacement of deleterious genes, or to turn genes on or off. It has been hailed as one of the greatest breakthroughs in biology in recent history.  It is also morally controversial. This talk will examine CRISPR-Cas9 from the perspective of Jewish law.

The Torah states that its laws are created for people to live by, and that people should support medical and technological advances that promote the saving of lives.  As a rule, Jewish law has focused on individual circumstances and would not have a general ruling for all applications of CRISPR-Cas9, rather there would be specific rulings based on the circumstances. Jewish law would look at each application of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing ranging from genetically removing lethal diseases, to changing eye and hair color, and issue case-specific rulings.  This talk explores the response of Judaism to these and other questions.

Image by the Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust

April 13, 2021

Hope in the Time of Pandemics:  Have We Been Here Before?

Benjamin R. Doolittle, MD, MDiv, FAAP, FACP
Associate Professor, Internal Medicine & Pediatrics
Yale University School of Medicine

For the past three years Dr. Benjamin Doolittle has collaborated with a colleague from the Andover Newton Seminary at Yale to offer a course on theology and medicine. In 2020 the course focused on how epidemics past have challenged—and changed—the practice of medicine and the practice of faith, and how the current pandemic will affect both. In this talk, Dr. Doolittle shares insights from his experience developing and teaching this course, as well as his provision of clinical care during the pandemic and his long-standing interest in preventing burnout among medical students, residents, and other clinical colleagues.

Image by Mike DuBose of UM News

May 13, 2021

Religion and Pediatric Medical Decision Making: Conflict, Understanding, and Accommodation

Armand H. Antommaria, MD, PhD
Lee Ault Carter Chair of Pediatric Ethics
Professor of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati

While the United States is becoming more secularized, religion and spirituality continue to play an important role in the US.  Parents’ and adolescents’ religious beliefs may substantially influence their medical decision making.  While some religiously-based refusals may constitute medical neglect and justify judicial intervention, many do not and require negotiation.  It is therefore important for providers to be able to understand how individuals’ beliefs are influencing their decisions and to be able to propose reasonable alternatives.  In other cases, such as the determination of death, greater accommodation of religious beliefs than is currently generally permitted may be justified.

Donald N. Medearis Jr. Lecture and Department of Pediatrics Ethics Grand Rounds

Image: Mother at the Bedside of a Sick Child by Christian Krohg

June 1, 2021

Referring to Chaplaincy in Serious Illness: Evidence and Practice

Natalie C. Ernecoff, PhD, MPH
Postdoctoral Scholar, Section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics
Division of General Internal Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Although many patients and their families view religion or spirituality as an important consideration near the end of life, such concerns are infrequently screened for and addressed in clinical settings. It is important for clinicians to understand when to screen and how to refer to chaplaincy or spiritual care services. Evidence in palliative care research supports broad screening for spiritual care needs by clinicians, and describes the broad skillset of spiritual care providers and chaplaincy to meet spiritual, religious, and existential needs of people with serious illness, including those near the end of life.

Image: RAND Corporation Logo

July 6, 2021

It Ain’t Necessarily So: The Messy Reality of Religious Practice and Belief

Dena Davis, JD, PhD
Presidential Endowed Chair in Health Humanities and Social Sciences
Professor of Bioethics
Lehigh University

America is an amazing smorgasbord of religious groups, which makes the search for “cultural competence” a seemingly impossible task. It is easy to fall into the trap of “Jews do this, Catholics believe that, Jehovah's Witnesses don't do that....” But if we look at our own lives, and our friends and families, we immediately see that life is a lot more complicated. This is especially true in a country like ours, where the state plays no role in defining religion. How do we educate ourselves about basic religious beliefs and practices, while staying alert to the astonishing diversity within religious groups?

Image of Porgy and Bess by the American Repertory Theater

August 3, 2021


 

Common Misconceptions about Catholic Healthcare: Vaccination and Vaccines

Michael Deem, PhD
Associate Professor
Center for Bioethics & Health Law
University of Pittsburgh

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and emerging variants, beliefs regarding vaccines and religious objections to vaccination are of increasing importance. Therefore, the lecture series is dividing its attention to misconceptions about Catholic healthcare into two parts and will devote this first lecture to Catholic views on vaccination, including misconceptions regarding the currently available COVID-19 vaccines.

Image: Photologic

September 14, 2021

Care of Severely Impaired African-American Newborns: Reflections from the Black Church Tradition

Patrick T. Smith, MA, MDiv, PhD
Associate Research Professor of Theological Ethics and Bioethics
Duke Divinity School

This talk raises questions concerning care of severely impaired African-American newborns with a limited life expectancy from the perspective of African-American Christian theology and spirituality. It highlights the impact of racism and socioeconomic status as a partial explanatory hypothesis with respect to the disparities regarding health outcomes among African-American women and their babies. Moreover, it highlights some of the spiritual and theological resources that can inform thinking about the moral status of those babies in this vulnerable group and the medical decisions that follow.

Image: University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

October 5, 2021


 

 

Working the Mind-Body Connection – Tools from Thai Buddhism for Pain Management and Palliative Care

Scott Stonington, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of
Internal Medicine and Anthropology
University of Michigan Ann Arbor

In the US, the pendulum has recently swung from liberal prescribing to systematic restriction of opioids. Meanwhile, pain management remains uncomfortable and frustrating for most clinicians and patients. Using a series of cases from the US and Thailand, this talk explores concepts from Buddhism about the difference between pain and suffering, and the ways in which the attempt to escape discomfort (for both clinicians and patients) can generate cycles of suffering that plague those involved in pain medicine.

Image: International Committee of the Red Cross

November 2, 2021

The Intersection of Racism, Religion and Mental Health in Clinical Care

John C. Welch, M.Div., PhD
Theologian, Medical Ethicist, Community Engagement Consultant

Stigmatized groups and particularly African Americans have for centuries been victims of chronic racialized trauma resulting from a variety of social determinants. This trauma has had negative health implications including mental health challenges that can lead to complex patient/provider interactions and often leave their need for palliative therapies unaddressed. This talk will address how religious and spiritual beliefs affect African American patients’ seeking/not-seeking mental healthcare, and how religious/faith institutions have themselves perpetuated racism.

Image: Nick Childers/Public Source

December 7, 2021

Physician Aid in Dying: An Examination from Spiritual and Ethical Perspectives

Heather Mikes, DO
Clinical Instructor of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Timothy Quill, MD
Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry, Palliative Care and Nursing
University of Rochester Medical Center

Jonathan Weinkle, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Abstract: In considering Physician Aid in Dying (PAD), clinicians confront ethical and spiritual challenges. Dr. Mikes will provide an update on the latest in legal, practical, and medical aspects of the practice. She will then moderate a discussion with Drs. Quill and Weinkle regarding the role of the physician, as well as ethical and spiritual arguments for and against PAD. 

Image by Bret Kavanaugh on Unsplash