University at Buffalo

Center for Clinical Ethics and Humanities in Health Care

Bioethics Bulletin

Editor: Tim Madigan
February 1996
Volume Three, Number Two

Co-Directors: Gerald Logue, MD and Stephen Wear, PhD
Secretary: Lisa Bolten
Research Associate: Charles Jack, MA
Address: Center for Clinical Ethics and Humanities in Health Care
Veteran's Affairs Medical Center
3495 Bailey Avenue Buffalo, NY 14215

Telephone: 862-3412 FAX: 862-4748
Website: http://wings.buffalo.edu/faculty/research/bioethics/
E-mail sent to Lisa BoltenLBolten@ubmedc.buffalo.edu.

Newsletter Distribution

The Center newsletter can be delivered to you via e-mail or fax. If you would like to receive the newsletter over the Internet, please forward your request to Jack Freer, MD JFreer@ubmedb.buffalo.edu. If you would like to receive it by fax, call Lisa Bolten at 862-3412 and tell her your fax number. We encourage the use of e-mail and fax distribution rather than paper for the newsletter. Please let us know if there are any people you would like to have placed on our mailing list.

Upcoming Center Meetings

The Center currently has three committees: Community Affairs, Education and Research. All Center members are welcome to participate in these committees.

Community Affairs Committee

The next meeting will be on Monday, February 5th at 4:00 PM in the Nursing Conference Room, third floor, Erie County Medical Center. Discussion will focus on planning upcoming Ethics Grand Rounds. For further information, contact Catherine Lyons at 845-3122.

Ethics Grand Rounds

There will be an ethics grand rounds on Tuesday, April 9th at 8:00 AM, Millard Fillmore Hospital, Gates Circle, Webster Hall. Further details will be provided in the next "Bioethics Bulletin." For information, contact Jack Freer JFreer@ubmedb.buffalo.edu. or at 887-4852).

Center Reading Group

The Center has established a second reading and research group (beyond the "Health Care Policy Group"), the purpose of which is to discuss in-progress publications and encourage new publications mad allied research activities. The first work being discussed is Stephen Wear's book Informed Consent: Patient Autonomy and Physician Beneficence Within Clinical Medicine. The book, published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1993, will be going into its second edition, and Wear is interested in receiving comments and suggestions. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 14th at 4 PM, at the Center for Inquiry, 1310 Sweet Home Road, between Maple and Rensch Roads in Amherst. Look for the twin red-and-white gates. Janet Harszlak, a member of the University at Buffalo's department of communications, and a staff associate of the department of medicine, will give a presentation on tactics and results of attempts to enhance patient understanding from the field of communications. If you plan to attend, please contact Chuck Jack jackubphil@aol.com. at 862-3412. He will send you a copy of the first eight chapters. Also let him know if you are interested in attending future reading group meetings.

Upcoming Lectures

"Medical Genetics 1996." Friday, February 2. Presenter: Richard Erbe, MD. Pediatric Grand Rounds. Sponsored by the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo through the Department of Pediatrics. Children's Hospital, 219 Bryant Street, Kinch Auditorium, 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM. Approved for 1.0 hours of AMA/PRA Category 1 credit. For further information, contact Marcia Chelminiak, Office of Pediatric Medical Education, 878-7355.

"Neurological Aspects of Chronic Pain." Tuesday, February 7. Presenter: Eugene Gosy, MD. Sponsored by the SUNY at Buffalo Department of Anesthesiology. 5:30 - 6:30 PM. Cary Room, Research Studies Building, Roswell Park Cancer Institute. For information, contact Mark Lema, PhD, MD at 845-3240.

"Update on the Women's Health Initiative and Related Activities at the SUNY at Buffalo's Vanguard Center." Wednesday, February 7. Presenter: Maurizio Trevisan, MD. General Internal Medicine Grand Rounds. Sponsored by the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo through the Department of Medicine - Division of General Internal Medicine. Approved for 1.0 hours of AMA/PRA Category 1 credit. Beck Hall conference room, Main Street Campus, 7:45 AM - 8:45 AM. Call Karen Carter-Tanyi at 887-5016 for further details.

"Scientific and Ethical Dilemmas of Advances in Huntington's Disease." Wednesday, February 7th. The Second Annual Jus Lecture in honor of Dr. Andrzej Jus will be given by Dr. Anne B. Young, Chief, Neurology Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Julieanne Dorn, Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School. 4:00 - 5:00 PM, Mount Sinai Hospital, Ben Sadowski Auditorium, 600 University Avenue, 18th Floor, Toronto, Ontario. For further information, contact the University of Toronto's Joint Centre for Bioethics at 416-978-1906.

"Breathtaking Decisions: A Weekend Seminar on Bioethics and End of Life Issues." March 22-23. Sponsored by The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, together with the Christian Medical and Dental Society and Trinity International University. Featured Speakers: Nigel Cameron, PhD, Senior Vice President for Academic Planning, Trinity International University and author of _The New Medicine: Life and Death After Hippocrates_; and Robert D. Orr, MD, Director of Clinical Ethics and Associate Professor of Family Medicine at Loma Linda University. The seminar will be held from 7:00 to 9:30 PM Friday evening, and from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturday. The location is the Wesleyan Church of Hamburg, 4999 McKinley Parkway, Hamburg. Conference registration is $59.00 ($53.00 for members of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity or the Christian Medical and Dental Society). To register or to receive further information, call 1-800-417-9999.

"Protecting the Vulnerable: Public Policy and Human Experimentation." April 18-19; sponsored by the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. For information, contact: Jonathan Moreno, PhD jmoreno@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu. at 215-898-7136.

New York State Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Conference. April 18-19. Co-sponsored by Hospice Buffalo. Sheraton Inn, Buffalo. Guest speakers include Rabbi Dr. Earl Grollman, Alan D. Wolfelt, PhD, and Wanda Henry-Jenkins, MHS. The conference will focus on helping personal sorrow, public support and addressing children's needs. Registration includes a luncheon, breaks and materials. The conference will be held from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM on April 18 and 19. Save money by registering before March 1. To attend one day, the fee is $50; for both days, the fee is $90. After March 1, the fee for one day is $75 or $115 for both days. For further information or to receive a conference brochure, call 1-800-336-7437 or 837-7438.

59th Annual Spring Clinical Day. Saturday, May 11. Sponsored by the Medical Alumni Association. Buffalo Marriott Ballroom. Featuring a luncheon talk by Sherwin Nuland, MD, author of _How We Die_, entitled "Death, The Doctor and Hope." There will also be a panel discussion on "End of Life/Quality of Life" with Martin Brecher, MD, Jack P. Freer, MD, Ross G. Hewitt, MD and Robert A. Milch, MD. Further details will be given in the next "Bioethics Bulletin."

Educational Program

"Making Choices and Taking Charge: Advance Medical Directives and End of Life Decisions", an educational program presented by the Buffalo General Hospital Ethics Committee, is being offered on February 13, 15, 21 and 22, from 7:00 - 8:30 PM. For information on locations, please call Buffalo General's Public Relations Department at 859-2041. The January 5th Buffalo News featured an article by reporter Paula Voell on "Ethics at the End of Life: Coming to Terms With the Issues of Dying," which discussed the Buffalo General program. If you would like a copy of the article, please contact the Center.

Notice of Public Hearing

Senator Kemp Hannon, Chairman of the NYS Senate Committee on Health, and Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, Chairman of the NYS Assembly Committee on Health, will be holding a public hearing on Wednesday, February 7 at 10:00 AM in Hearing Room A, Legislative Office Building, Albany, New York. The hearing will discuss the Family Health Care Decisions Bill. For further information, contact Veronica Smith in Senator Hannon's office, 518-455-2200.

Publication Announcement

On-Line Database of Literature and Medicine, 1995 printed edition. An annotated bibliography for the Medical Humanities, produced at New York University School of Medicine and Medical Center. Examples of keywords: abandonment, art of medicine, doctor-patient relationship, death and dying, human worth, loneliness, medical ethics, ordinary life, physician experience, technology, women's health. To order, make out a check or money order to: New York University Medical Center, and send $35.00 plus $4.00 for postage and handling to Felice Aull, PhD, Dept. of Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016. For further information, contact Aull at: phone: 212-263-8542; fax:; 212-689-9060; e-mail: aullfo1@popmail.med.nu.edu.

Children's Hospital Recruits Champs

Children's Champs is the name of the Children's Hospital of Buffalo Volunteer Program. Volunteers are needed to participate in the errand/escort program, which delivers errands and transports patients throughout the hospital Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Orientation and training are available for all volunteer positions. For more information, contact Volunteer Services at 878-7241.

Course Offerings

Two courses will be offered in the Spring that should be of interest to Center Members. David Nyberg from the University at Buffalo's Graduate School of Education will be teaching "Ethics and Educational Judgment." This course is part of the Masters Degree in Education for the Health Professions. The purpose of the course is to provide a structured context in which to develop skills in applying moral philosophy to the formation of practical judgments in the field of medical education. The course will meet as a small section on Thursday afternoons from 3:30 to 6:10 PM in the Primary Care Resource Center (Beck Hall) on UB's Main Street campus. The first day of class will be either January 18 or January 25. Anyone interested in this topic is welcome to attend. For information, contact Richard Sarkin rsarkin@ubmedb.buffalo.edu; phone: 878-7288).

In addition, Richard Hull, professor of philosophy at the University of Buffalo and visiting scholar at Buffalo General Hospital, will be offering a semester-long course at Buffalo General Hospital, Wednesday evenings from 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM in Advanced Biomedical Ethics. It will meet in the Board of Trustees Room, E-Building, First Floor, starting January 24. Hull is particularly interested in getting interns, residents, nurse practitioners, hospital administrators and persons in medical law involved, as well as philosophy graduate students. Variable credits are available, and anyone is welcome to audit who will do the readings and participate in discussions. For information, contact Hull phirhull@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu. at 645-2444, extension 722.

Seminar on Detachment and Engagement

A highly interactive seminar with multi-disciplinary participants on the topic "Detachment and Engagement: Objectivity and Emotions in Clinical Practice" will be held July 27 - August 2, 1996 at Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio. Faculty will address major conceptual issues and facilitate working groups. Readings will include selections from imaginative literature and scholarly investigations in philosophy and social sciences. Seminar faculty: Howard Brody, MD, PhD; Sandra Harding, PhD; Ellen More, PhD; Rosemary Tong, PhD. Enrollment will be limited. Application deadline: April 30, 1996. Costs including room and board: $950.00. For information, contact the Center for Literature, Medicine and the Health Care Professions, Mahan House, Hiram College, Hiram, OH 44234; phone 216-569-5380; fax 216-569-5449.

Call for Papers

The Midwest Bioethics Center invites applications for its fourth annual Clinical Ethics Institute for Nurses, to be held October 14-19 in Kansas City, MO. For information, contact Cecilia Stadler, Midwest Bioethics Center, 1100 Pennsylvania, Suite 4041, Kansas City, MO 64105; 816-221-1100; fax 816-221-2002.

Conference on Value Inquiry: Inherent and Instrumental Values. The 24th Conference on Value Inquiry will be held at D'Youville College, April 18-20, 1996. Broad participation is sought. Papers and abstracts of papers that address issues concerning inherent and instrumental values are welcome. Early submission is advised. Papers may be practically or theoretically oriented. Treatment of the topic may be disciplinary and address arguments within a single field of value inquiry such as ethics, law, politics, aesthetics, health care, business, or education. Papers may also be interdisciplinary and examine inherent and instrumental values from two or more fields of inquiry. A selection of papers presented at the conference will be considered for publication. Contact: John Abbarno, Coordinator, 24th Conference on Value Inquiry, Dept. of Philosophy, D'Youville College, 320 Porter Avenue, Buffalo, New York, 14201. Telephone: 716-881-3200, extension 6540. Fax: 716-881- 7760.

The Society for Health and Human Values invites papers of no more than 12 pages for its 1996 Spring Meeting, "Stories and Their Limits: Putting The Ethics Into Narrative Ethics," to be held at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, April 11-13, 1996. Submissions deadline: January 15. For information, contact Hilde L. Nelson, Center for Applied and Professional Ethics, 801 McClung Tower, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996; or call 615-974-3255.

The Society for Health and Human Values also calls for abstracts for its joint meeting with the Society for Bioethics Consultation, on "Health Care, Ethics, and Humanities: From Our Past to Our Future," to be held October 10-13 at the Sheraton City Center Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio. Deadline for conference workshops is March 15; for papers, and section and interest group programs, the deadline is April 15. Papers and workshops are welcome on topics related to health sciences and the humanities, including but not limited to: ethics, philosophy, religious studies, literature, history, creative arts, law, social science, clinical ethics, education evaluation, and health policy studies related to the humanistic aspects of health care education and practice. For more information, contact the SHHV national office, 703-556-9222.

Members Corner

Stephen Wear, PhD, Benjamin Phillips, RN, Sally |Shimmel, RN and John Banas, MD had an article entitled "Developing and Implementing a Medical Futility Policy: One Institution's Experience" published in the Winter 1995 Community Ethics: The Newsletter of the Consortium Ethics Program, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 2-5. If anyone is interested in a copy, please contact the Center.

Wayne Waz, MD and Jennifer Henkind, MD published "the Adequacy of Medical Ethics Education in a Pediatrics Tranining Program" in Academic Medicine; Vol. 70 (1995), pp. 1041-43.

Comments and Suggestions

Your comments and suggestions regarding this newsletter are encouraged. Please send them to the Center address, or by e-mail to the newsletter editor, Tim Madigan timmadigan@aol.com. We also need information on upcoming events that would be of interest to Center members. The deadline for the next newsletter is February 15th.