Greetings from the Program for Biomedical Ethics at Yale School of Medicine!

For many of you, this is your first year as part of the Yale Medical community – welcome! For the others, welcome back to another year of the Program for Biomedical Ethics at Yale School of Medicine!

The Program for Biomedical Ethics (PBE) serves as a center for clinical and scholarly work and discourse in the field of medical ethics here at Yale, with many activities available.

Activities include:

• A monthly Bioethics Journal Club led by Dr. Tom Duffy and PBE Associate Director Dr. Lydia Dugdale. This group is open to medical school faculty, fellows, and residents.
• The Community Bioethics Forum, led by Lori Bruce, is a monthly meeting of community members interested in medical ethics. For those interested in obtaining input from representatives of the greater New Haven community (with no formal ties to the university or hospital) regarding a research or clinical initiative, this group can serve as an excellent resource.
• Dr. Jack Hughes, PBE associate director, and PBE Director Mark R. Mercurio continue to direct the “professional responsibility” course for medical students in their first 18 months, and are grateful for the participation of many talented faculty.
• The Student Bioethics Interest Group, led by medical student Eli Neustadter and physician associate student Christina Carbone, holds monthly evening seminars with guest speakers. This group is open to medical, nursing, PA, and public health students interested in bioethics, and offers an opportunity for interdisciplinary education and interaction in the pre-clinical setting.
• This year’s Evening Ethics Seminar Series will include Josephine Johnston and Dr. Erik Parens from the Hasting Center; Elyn Saks from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law; Dr. Alan Fleischman from Albert Einstein College of Medicine; author Dr. Abraham Nussbaum from the University of Colorado School of Medicine; Christine Mitchell from Harvard Medical School; Dr. Lachlan Forrow from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Dr. Robert Macauley from the University of Vermont College of Medicine; Dr. David Strauss from Columbia University Medical Center; Dr. Mary Dell from Nationwide Children’s’ Hospital; Dr. Katrina Karkazis from Stanford University Center for Biomedical Ethics; and Drs. Thomas P. Duffy, Andre Sofair, Adam Hittelman and Pasquale Patrizio from Yale School of Medicine. These sessions tend to be informative, often provocative, and always interesting, with plenty of time for audience discussion.

You can learn more about the PBE, including schedules for the above events, at http://www.biomedicalethics.yale.edu/. Those interested in becoming more involved in any of these activities are encouraged to contact Program Manager Karen Kolb, at karen.kolb@yale.edu, or stop by our office at 430 Congress Ave.