BIOETHICS SEMINAR
May 13, 2015, 4:10-5:30 pm
155 College St., Room 108 (main floor, to the right of the elevators)
This event will be webcast:
https://jcb.adobeconnect.com/bioethicsseminars/
Ethics Debriefing in Canadian Hospitals: Current
Practices and Perceptions
Veronique Fraser, RN, MSc (Nursing), MSc (Bioethics), Academic
Fellow in Clinical and Organizational Ethics, Centre for Clinical
Ethics and the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics
Abstract: The role and responsibilities of Canadian practicing health ethicists (PHEs) is varied
and includes case consultation, organizational ethics, policy and guideline development, and
educational initiatives, amongst others. Ethics debriefing is one example of a practice that is
gaining increasing recognition as a valuable practice opportunity for PHEs wishing to assist
healthcare staff cope with ethical issues or feelings of moral distress. The bioethics literature
suggests that ethics debriefing sessions provide clinicians with an opportunity to increase ethics
awareness and capacity, develop strategies to address moral issues (especially those which reoccur), and provide a safe and respectful forum for staff to share feelings on complex and troubling
ethics problems. Aside from these general assumptions however, very little information, either
theoretical or applied, is available on the practice of ethics debriefing. This talk will provide
preliminary results from an ongoing research study exploring the current practice of ethics
debriefs at Canadian hospitals. Discussion will focus on how PHEs and clinicians conceptualize the
goals of ethics debriefs, as well as how clinicians and PHEs perceive the value of these sessions.
155 College Street, Ste. 754, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1P8 Canada Tel.: [416] 978-2709
Fax: [416] 978-1911
jcb.utoronto.ca
A partnership among the University of Toronto; Baycrest Health Sciences; Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; Centre for Clinical Ethics, a joint venture of Providence
Healthcare, St. Joseph’s Health Centre, and St. Michael’s Hospital; Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab; The Hospital for Sick Children; Humber River Hospital; Mount Sinai Hospital;
North York General Hospital; Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; Toronto Community Care Access Centre; Trillium Health Partners; and University Health Network (Princess
Margaret Hospital, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, and Toronto Western Hospital).