Department Reports
Bioethics
The Division of Bioethics has three primary activities:
• Consultation with families, healthcare providers, researchers and policymakers on care practices and policies
• Education of students, staff, faculty and community
• Scholarship on ethical issues related to pediatric healthcare and research
The division comprises the faculty of the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Children’s. We coordinate the Clinical Bioethics Consult Service, advising families and clinicians about ethical issues in healthcare decisions. Faculty are members of the Seattle Children’s Ethics Committee and the Institutional Review Board (IRB). As part of the Institute for Translational Health Sciences, faculty are also involved with the Research Bioethics Consult Service, which provides advice to researchers, research participants and institutional review boards.
We host an annual conference focused on current ethical controversies in pediatrics, and we sponsor three case-based ethics Grand Rounds each year. Additional ongoing educational activities include seminars, discussions and interdisciplinary rounds for pediatric residents, nurses and social workers. Our fellowship program trains individuals for academic careers in pediatric bioethics and can be done concurrently with clinical training in a subspecialty including academic work toward a master’s degree through the UW Bioethics and Humanities Department.
Faculty scholarship examines ethical issues surrounding disabilities, genetics, global health and public health; it explores the uniquely pediatric challenges of parent-provider communication, adolescent decision-making and decision-making for children without families. We approach these issues through conceptual analysis, empirical research, and policy development.
Leadership and Faculty
Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, Bioethics
Academic Title: Professor and Head, Division of Bioethics, Department of Pediatrics; Adjunct Professor, Department of Bioethics and Humanities
Benjamin S. Wilfond, MD, is the director of the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics at Seattle Childrens Hospital and professor and chief of the Division of Bioethics in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of ... cont.