WMU News

Bronson's Robert Beck discusses medical ethics

Oct. 12, 2003

KALAMAZOO -- The chair of Bronson Methodist Hospital's Ethics Committee will be on the Western Michigan University campus Tuesday, Oct. 21, to talk about practical issues and ethical concerns surrounding the concept of informed patient consent in health care settings.

Dr. Robert Beck, a pediatric intensivist and medical director of the pediatric intensive care unit at the Children's Hospital at Bronson will present "My Choice or Your Choice: The Meaning of Informed Consent in Health Care," at 7:30 p.m. in the Putney Lecture Hall of the Fetzer Center. The lecture is part of the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society Lecture Series and is sponsored by the Department of Philosophy, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Michael K. and Shirley Bach Endowment for the Ethics Center.

"One focus of his presentation will elaborate on the evolution of our currently accepted concept of informed patient consent," says Dr. Shirley Bach, professor emerita of philosophy and organizer of Beck's visit. "He will also talk about the difficulties that physicians, patients, families and health care institutions face when a patient cannot take part in his or her own medical decisions."

For more information about the event, contact the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society at (269) 387-4397.

Media contact: Matt Gerard, 269 387-8400, matthew.gerard@wmich.edu


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