Class: Using Firsthand and Fictional Narratives to Examine the Ethics of Both Structural and Interpersonal Aspects of Healthcare

Location:   LaRoche College Campus, Zapalla College Center, Ryan Room (lower level by the Cafeteria)

8:30 am:    Registration/Continental Breakfast
9:00 am:    Program Start
12:00 pm:  Lunch
4:15 pm:    Program adjournment

Cost:

9:00 am – 12:00 pm   A Discussion of “In Shock: My Journey from Death to Recovery and the Redemptive Power of Hope”

Ritu Thamman, MD, FASE, FACC.
Cardiologist, Private Practice
Medical Humanities Faculty, University of Pittsburgh

Abstract:  Dr. Thamman will discuss portions of the book In Shock: My Journey from Death to Recovery and the Redemptive Power of Hope (2017) by Rana Awdish, MD, FCCP.   In Shock is a riveting first-hand account from a young critical care physician, who in the passage of a moment is transfigured into a dying patient. This transposition, coincidentally timed at the end of her medical training, instantly lays bare the vast chasm between the conventional practice of medicine and the stark reality of the prostrate patient.

12:00 pm – 1:15 pm       LUNCH

1:15 pm – 4:30 pm           The Farewell Party: Old Age, Friendship, and Assisted Death.

Lucy Fischer, PhD
Distinguished Professor of English and Film Studies, Emerita
University of Pittsburgh

Mark Wicclair, PhD
Adjunct Professor of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh

Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants should be able to:

• Discuss why some impaired elderly persons might want to end their lives
• ​Discuss how friendship can affect end of life decisions
• Explore the role of humor in depicting end of life decision-making