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Medical Ethics Division News

November 2009 - January 2010

Media and Publicity

Dr. Joseph Fins Quoted in Article on Use of End-of-Life Sedation

Joseph J. Fins, MD, FACP, Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics and Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Medicine in Psychiatry, was quoted in an article titled “Hard Choice for a Comfortable Death: Sedation,” which appeared in The New York Times (front page), Heraldtribune.com, Timesfreepress.com, and Themedguru.com. The article discusses palliative sedation to unconsciousness in terminally ill patients who are in extreme pain. Although terminal sedation has been endorsed by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, the American Medical Association, and the US Supreme Court when it is used to alleviate great physical suffering, it remains controversial. Dr. Fins discussed some of the ethical concerns about terminal sedation. Among the comments he made: “There should be ambivalence. If it became too easy and you weren’t ambivalent, then I would really start worrying about it. But the fact that you’re worrying about it doesn’t mean you’ve done something wrong.”

Drs. Joseph Fins and Nicholas Schiff Comment on Misdiagnoses of Patients With Disorders of Consciousness

Joseph J. Fins, MD, Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics andProfessor of Medicine, Public Health, and Medicine in Psychiatry, was quoted in an article by the Associated Press engendered by the recent case of a Belgian man who was misdiagnosed as being in a vegetative stage for 23 years. "Many people recover over time," he said. "It's very easy for the label that is affixed at one point to sort of become eternalized, and so no one questions the diagnosis." Nicholas Schiff, MD, Associate Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience and Public Health, was quoted in an article on CNN.com. He said that the transition from vegetative state to minimally conscious state can take place outside the time window of careful assessment, often after the patient has been transferred to a nursing home with an inaccurate prognosis of permanent vegetative state. “Because there are no standards for reassessment or any access to rehabilitation centers for many of these patients this is the status quo,” he said. Together, Drs. Schiff and Fins were invited to comment on a neuroscience blog of the Dana Foundation.

Honors and Appointments

Dr. Joseph J. Fins Elected President of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities

Joseph J. Fins, MD, FACP, Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics and Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Medicine in Psychiatry, was elected President of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH). Dr. Fins was selected for this position in recognition of his important contributions to bioethics and his broad expertise in the field. His election was reported in a medical college press release.

Dr. Inmaculada de Melo-Martín Appointed Associate Professor of Public Health in Reproductive Medicine
Inmaculada de Melo-Martín, PhD, MS, Associate Professor of Public Health in the Division of Medical Ethics, has been given a secondary appointment as Associate Professor of Public Health in Reproductive Medicine. She will be collaborating with Dr. Zev Rosenwaks, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, and other members of the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility on projects related to ethical and regulatory aspects of reproductive medicine, stem cell research, and oocyte cryopreservation. Dr. de Melo-Martín’s previous collaborative work with faculty in this group has already resulted in two publications.

Lectures, Presentations, and Events

Dr. Joseph J. Fins Is Keynote Speaker at Palliative Care Conference

Joseph J. Fins, MD, FACP, Chief of the Division of Medical Ethics and Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Medicine in Psychiatry, was the keynote speaker at a conference titled “A Team of Partners in Palliative Care: Challenges and Choices in Ethics of Care at the End of Life,” held November 13 at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. The annual event was presented by the Collaborative for End of Life Care of Westchester and the New York State Southern Region, a consortium of more than 40 organizations and agencies committed to education on end-of-life care. Dr. Fins spoke on “Balancing the Right to Die and the Right to Care: Neuroethics Meets Palliative Care.” Other speakers included Kathleen M. Burke, Esq., Vice President of Board Relations, Secretary and Counsel at New-York Presbyterian Hospital, and Frederick J. Wertz, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Fordham University. More about the event.

Dr. Inmaculada de Melo-Martín is Invited Panelist at Science and Society Conference
Inmaculada de Melo-Martín, PhD, MS, Associate Professor of Public Health in the Division of Medical Ethics, was a panelist on a discussion of issues related to the public perception of risk at the 10th European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)/ European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Science & Society Conference. The conference was held in Heidelberg, Germany, November 6-7, 2009. The overall theme was “Food, Sustainability and Plant Science—a Global Challenge.”

Announcement

2009-2010 Medical Ethics Seminar Series
The Division of Medical Ethics presents its 2009-2010 Seminar Series, “Ethics, Technology, and Dignity: An Introduction to Twentieth Century Philosophers.” This series is designed for general informed readers whose interests are primarily in bioethics, clinical practice, public health, and law. No prior background in philosophy is required or assumed. The Program Co-Directors/Facilitators are Inmaculada de Melo-Martin, PhD, MS, Associate Professor of Public Health, and Wayne Shelton, PhD, MSW, Associate Professor at the Alden March Bioethics Institute of Albany Medical College and Adjunct Associate Professor of Public Health in the Division of Medical Ethics at Weill Cornell Medical College.