Ethical Decision-Making in Complex Patient Care
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Event Details
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Analyze the ethical tensions between respecting patient autonomy and ensuring safety in the context of diminished or fluctuating decision-making capacity.
- Evaluate the roles and responsibilities of surrogate decision-makers, particularly when family members are in conflict or when decisions may not align with the patient’s best interests or known values.
- Apply ethical principles and institutional frameworks to guide decision-making when a patient refuses treatment that clinicians believe is necessary, including when and how to ethically override objections.
Amber Allen is the Lead Clinical Ethicist at Sanford Health, where she supports interdisciplinary teams in navigating ethically complex cases across the continuum of care. With a background in nursing and advanced training in clinical ethics, Amber brings a deep understanding of the clinical realities and moral challenges that arise in patient care. Her work focuses on fostering ethical clarity, promoting patient-centered decision-making, and facilitating compassionate communication in situations involving capacity, consent, surrogate decision-making, and end-of-life care.
Emily Leuthold is a Clinical Ethicist at Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Emily received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in 2008 from Bethel University, in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her background in nursing includes Intensive Care, Urology, Renal Transplant, and Palliative Care. A passion for navigating through challenging situations led her to ethics, where she has completed a Medical Ethics Certificate Course through Washington State University and became certified as a Healthcare Ethics Consultant through the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH).