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Pediatric

One-Hour Concurrent Session

Best Interests: In the Eye of the Beholder (Pediatrics)

Thursday, April 21, 2022

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM US CST

CE: 0.75

Concurrent Session Moderator(s)

Tessie October, MD, MPH

Medical Officer
National Institutes of Health
Washington, District of Columbia

No relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose

Children with medical complexity have an increased risk of adverse health outcomes related to multiple comorbidities, the complicated nature of their care, and frequent interactions with the healthcare system. Parents of these children are often the strongest advocates for their medical care. However, sometimes parents' desires are in direct conflict with the medical team's opinion with respect to medical interventions required, meaningful and purposeful outcomes, quality of life, and end-of-life decisions. This session will discuss the challenges of disagreements between parents and the medical team about a patient's best interests.

Learning Objectives:

Apply ethical principles to conflicts that arise between caregivers and the medical team
Evaluate and determine the applicability of patient advocacy when the medical team's opinion differs from that of the family
Explore implicit bias arising from conflicts between primary caregivers and clinicians

Presentations:

Parents Are Advocates and Their Opinions Supersede Medical Team Decisions
Concurrent Session Faculty: Vanessa Madrigal, MD, MS, HEC-C – Children's National Hospital System
Families Are Often Adversaries, Putting Personal Needs Above the Child's Best Interests
Concurrent Session Faculty: Erin Paquette, MD, JD, M. Bioethics, FAAP, HEC-C – Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Pritzker School of Law (by courtesy); Ann and Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago