The MacLean Center is joining the discussion of violence during its 36th Annual Lecture Series. The theme for the 2017-2018 lecture series being held at the University of Chicago is “Ethical Issues in Violence, Trauma, and Trauma Surgery.
Each year since 1981, the Mac-Lean Center has sponsored an annual lecture series that has examined the ethical aspects of one key health-related issue. The success of that initial seminar program demonstrated that there was great interest at the University of Chicago in creating a sustainable interdisciplinary forum to discuss health-related subjects with colleagues from across campus.
Recent lecture series’ topics have included: Reproductive Ethics, Organ Transplantation, Pediatric Ethics, Global Health, Health Care Disparities, Medical Professionalism, Confidentiality, Pharmaceutical Innovation and Regulation, Health Reform, End of Life Care, and Neuroethics.
This yearlong interdisciplinary lecture series is co-sponsored by the University of Chicago Trauma Center, Dr. Selwyn Rogers Jr., Professor and Chief of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Director of Trauma Center, Executive Vice President, Community Health Engagement.
Organizers of the 36th Annual Lecture Series are:
- Selwyn Rogers Jr., MD, MPH, FACS; Chief Trauma & Acute Care Surgery, Founding Director, University of Chicago Trauma Center;
- Peter Angelos, MD, PhD, Linda Kohler Anderson Professor of Surgery, Associate Director, The MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics;
- Claire Hoppenot, MD, Fellow, OB-GYN, Senior Ethics Fellow, MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics; and
- Mark Siegler, MD, MACP, Lindy Bergman Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine & Surgery Director The MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics.
The issue of violence, trauma and trauma surgery raises many ethical problems. For example, disparities in the prevalence of violence and in outcomes of trauma are based upon factors that include age, race, geography, insurance status, and socioeconomic status. Also, the emergency nature of interventions in the context of trauma complicates the informed consent process. Further, emergency care decisions must be made with no prior doctor-patient relationship, and often for patients who lack decisional capacity and have no available surrogate decision-makers.
Reducing intentional violence and preventing trauma will require both individual action and community engagement. Research is needed to reduce violence and trauma and to improve trauma care and patient outcomes.
As the University of Chicago plans a new trauma center, they have invited local and national experts and community leaders to discuss the ethical issues related to Violence, Trauma, and Trauma Surgery. Among the upcoming local lecturers is Pastor Chris Harris, pastor of the Bright Star Church in Chicago; Kimberly Joseph, MD, FACS and Rev. Carol S. Reese, LCSW, Attending Physician, Trauma & Burns, and Hospital Chaplain, John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County and Lori E. Lightfoot, President of the Chicago Police Board.
These lectures are free and open to the public with an RSVP to help with planning. The lectures are held at the University of Chicago’s Billings Hospital Auditorium, P-117, 860 E. 59th Street in Chicago every Wednesday from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The series has already begun and will continue through May 2018. For more information and to register visit: www.MacLeanCenter.eventbrite.com.
For special assistance contact Kimberly Conner at (773) 702-1453.
