2025 Pediatric Bioethics Conference
Narratives and Communication: Bridging Science, Stories, and Ethics in Pediatrics
Join researchers, physicians, nurses, social workers, ethicists and advanced care providers in exploring the intersection of narrative, communication and pediatric bioethics. The 20th annual Pediatric Bioethics Conference will explore questions related to the ethical implications of storytelling in pediatrics and the significance of narrative in clinical care and pediatric bioethics.
Through this three-day conference, explore how communication can impact clinician-patient relationships and decision-making, the influence of narratives in shaping the practice of pediatrics, how stories promote learning and much more.
Choose to attend one or all three days of this year’s Pediatric Bioethics Conference. Early bird registration available through June 8. All participants must register by July 7. There will be no on-site registration. Learn more about scholarships and abstract submissions.
Register to Attend
Choose to attend one or all three days of this year’s Pediatric Bioethics Conference. Early bird registration available through June 8. All participants must register by July 7. There will be no on-site registration.
2025 Agenda
The Power of Words: The Science, Theory and Practice of Communicating with Patients and Families
8 a.m.
Sign-in and Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m.
Welcome and Introduction and Land Acknowledgment
Vittorio Gallo, PhD; Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Seattle Children’s Research Institute
Doug Opel, MD, MPH, Director, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care, Seattle Children’s Research Institute
8:45 a.m.
Communicating With Patients and Families During Serious Illness
Jennifer Mack, MD, MPH, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School
9:30 a.m.
What Are We Talking About When We Talk About Shared Decision-Making?
Doug Opel, MD, MPH, Seattle Children’s/University of Washington
10:15 a.m.
Do Words Matter? Humanizing Stigmatized Groups Through the Words Use
Maya Ragavan, MD, MPH, MS, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh
11 a.m.
Interdependent Decision-Making: What It Means for Pediatrics
Emily A. Largent, JD, PhD, RN, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
12 p.m.
Lunch
1 p.m.
Workshop 1: Leveraging Language to Mitigate Against Bias
Amy Trowbridge, MD, Seattle Children’s/University of Washington
Gitanjli (Tanya) Arora, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Workshop 2: Pearls And Pitfalls in The Study of Communication in the Health Care Encounter
Jeffrey D. Robinson, Ph.D., Portland State, Oregon Health and Science University
Doug Opel, MD, MPH, Seattle Children’s/University of Washington
Workshop 3: The Weight of Words: Recognizing the Linguistic Tools We Use to Assert Power
Aaron Wightman, MD, MA, Seattle Children’s/University of Washington
Jennifer Kett, MD, Seattle Children’s/University of Washington
LTC Jeanne Krick, MD, MA, San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium; Medical Ethics Consultant to the Surgeon General of the Army
2:45 p.m.
Workshop 1: Leveraging Language to Mitigate Against Bias
Amy Trowbridge, MD, Seattle Children’s/University of Washington
Gitanjli (Tanya) Arora, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Workshop 2: Pearls and Pitfalls in the Study of Communication in the Health Care Encounter
Jeffrey D. Robinson, Ph.D., Portland State, Oregon Health and Science University
Doug Opel, MD, MPH, Seattle Children’s/University of Washington
Workshop 3: The Weight of Words: Recognizing the Linguistic Tools We Use to Assert Power
Aaron Wightman, MD, MA, Seattle Children’s/University of Washington
Jennifer Kett, MD, Seattle Children’s/University of Washington
LTC Jeanne Krick, MD, MA, San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium; Medical Ethics Consultant to the Surgeon General of the Army
4:30 p.m.
Q+A with Day 1 Speakers
5:15 p.m.
Adjourn
Attending to Stories: Pediatrics, Bioethics and Narrative
8 a.m.
Sign-in and Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m.
Introduction to Theme, Artwork and Exhibition
Aaron Wightman, MD, MA, Co-Director of Education, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care, Seattle Children’s Research Institute
8:40 a.m.
Poetry Broadsides: Patient Narratives Through Creativity
Sierra Nelson, Senior Writer-in-Residence at Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle Arts & Lectures Writers-in-the-Schools Program
9:00 a.m.
Narrative Ethics: Diverse Meanings and Practices
Elizabeth Lanphier, PhD, MS, HEC-C, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
9:35 a.m.
Narrative Ethics: The Moral Work of Stories
Martha Montello, PhD, Harvard Medical School
10:25 a.m.
Story Matters: The Importance of Narrative in Clinical Care and Ethics
Dr. Micah Hester, PhD, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; Arkansas Children’s Hospital
11:00 a.m.
Bearing Witness: Narratives for Promoting Change in Medicine
Rachel Pearson, MD, PhD, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
11:30 a.m.
Making Space for Stories: Articulating the Common Threads That Connect Us
Maren E. Olson, MD, MPH, Med, University of Minnesota Medical School
12 p.m.
Lunch
1 p.m.
Cases That Haunt Us: Narrative in Clinical Ethics Consultation
Denise Dudzinski, PhD, Seattle Children’s/University of Washington
1:30 p.m.
Attending to the Silenced Voices
Arika Moore Patneaude MSW, LICSW, APHSW-C, Seattle Children’s/University of Washington
2 p.m.
Rethinking the Bioethics Origin Story
Robert Baker, PhD, Union College
2:30 p.m.
A Conversation With Sheri Fink
Sheri Fink, MD, PhD, Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist and Author; Tulane University Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
3:15 p.m.
A Conversation About Pediatrics Bioethics and Narrative
Day 2 Speakers
3:45 p.m.
Questions From the Audience
4:30 p.m.
Adjourn
Attending to Stories: Pediatrics, Bioethics and Narrative
7:45 a.m.
Sign-in and Continental Breakfast
8:15 a.m.
Welcome and Introduction
Douglas Diekema, MD, MPH, Co-Director of Education, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care, Seattle Children’s/University of Washington
8:20 a.m.
From Monologue to Dialogue to Broader Conversation: Learning Through Story Collections
Ana S. Iltis, PhD, Center for Bioethics, Health and Society and Department of Philosophy, Wake Forest University
9:00 a.m.
Narratives and Counter Narratives: Who Controls our Storied Selves?
Keisha Ray, PhD, McGovern Medical School
9:35 a.m.
The Fragility of Narrative: Unpacking the Fallibility of Memory and Storytelling
Douglas Diekema, MD, MPH, Seattle Children’s/University of Washington
10:20 a.m.
Breakout Sessions: ABSTRACTS
11:40 a.m.
Past and Future Stories: Narrative and Moral Imagination in Pediatrics
Luke Mosley, MD, MTS, Seattle Children’s/University of Washington
12:30 p.m.
Concluding Comments and Adjourn
CME Accreditation
Seattle Children’s is accredited by the Washington State Medical Association CME Accreditation Committee to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Seattle Children’s designates this live educational activity for a maximum of 16.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
This activity meets the criteria for up to 16.5 hours of Category I CME credit to satisfy the relicensure requirements of the Washington State Medical Quality Assurance Commission.
Course Objectives
- Identify key concepts in narrative ethics and their application in pediatrics.
- Critically assess the limitations of using narratives in clinical practice and bioethics.
- Consider the use of narrative tools to promote equity in pediatrics.
Speakers
Gitanjli Tanya Arora, MD, MHS, DTMH
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Robert Baker, PhD
William D. Williams Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, Union College
Doug Diekema, MD, MPH
Professor, Division of Bioethics & Palliative Care; Co-Director of Education, Trueman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care; Principal Investigator, Trueman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care
Denise Dudzinski, PhD, HEC-C
Professor, Department of Bioethics & Humanities and Pediatrics, Division of Bioethics & Palliative Care; Director, Organizational Ethics Service; Principal Investigator, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care
Sheri Fink, MD, PhD
Adjunct Associate Professor, Tulane University Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine
D. Micah Hester, PhD
Chair, Department of Medical Humanities and Bioethics
Clinical Ethicist, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Ana S. Iltis, PhD
Center for Bioethics, Health and Society and Department of Philosophy, Wake Forest University
Jennifer Kett, MD, MA
Division Head, Medical Director, Bioethics and Palliative Care; Associate Professor, Division of Bioethics and Palliative Care, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine; Principal Investigator, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care
LTC Jeanne Krick, MD, MA
Program Director, Neonatology-Perinatology Fellowship, San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium, Consultant to the Surgeon General of the Army, Medical Ethics
Elizabeth Lanphier, PhD, MS, HEC-C
Assistant Professor, Ethics Center, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Emily A. Largent, JD, PhD, RN
Emanuel & Robert Hart Associate Professor of Medical Ethics & Health Policy, Chief, Division of Medical Ethics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Jennifer Mack, MD, MPH
Associate Chief, Division of Population Sciences, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Faculty Vice President for the Office for Faculty Development, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Martha Montello, PhD
Lecturer for Center for Bioethics and Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Luke Mosley, MD, MTS
Assistant Professor, Division of Bioethics & Palliative Care; Medical Director of Inpatient Quality, Palliative Care Team; Principal Investigator, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics & Palliative Care
Sierra Nelson
Senior Writer-in-Residence at Seattle Children's Hospital via Seattle Arts & Lectures Writers-in-the-Schools (WITS) Program; Collaborator in Words of Courage Project; BA in Literature from Vassar College, MFA in Poetry from University of Washington
Maren E. Olson, MD, MPH, MEd
Director, Center for the Art of Medicine; Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics; University of Minnesota Medical School
Doug Opel, MD, MPH
Professor, Division of Bioethics and Palliative Care & Division of General Pediatrics; Director, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care; Principal Investigator, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care
Arika Moore Patneaude, MSW, LICSW, APHSW-C
Director, Bioethics, Palliative Care and Journey Programs
Principal Investigator, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care
Rachel Pearson, MD, PhD
Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Distinguished Professor in Bioethics; Humanities Director, Charles E. Cheever, Jr. Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Maya Ragavan, MD, MPH, MS
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
Keisha Ray, PhD
John P McGovern MD Professor of Oslerian Medicine, Associate Professor with Tenure
Jeffrey D. Robinson, Ph.D.
Professor of Communication, Affiliate Faculty of Radiation Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University
Amy Trowbridge, MD
Associate Professor, Division of Bioethics & Palliative Care; Director of Education, Division of Bioethics & Palliative Care; Director, PedsTalk Program; Co-Director, University of Washington Palliative Care Training Center; Principal Investigator, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care
Aaron Wightman, MD, MA
Co-Director of Education, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care; Associate Professor, Division of Bioethics and Palliative Care; Principal Investigator, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics and Palliative Care
Venue Information
Venue
Bell Harbor International Conference Center
2211 Alaskan Way, Pier 66, Seattle WA 98121
Telephone: 206-441-6666
Toll-Free: 888-772-4422
For information including directions to the conference center and parking, please visit the Bell Harbor International Conference Center website.
Hotel and transportation
We recommend booking accommodation in the downtown Seattle area for ease of access to the conference center. To ensure availability at your hotel of choice, consider making a reservation early. The closest hotels to the Bell Harbor Conference Center are the Edgewater Hotel and the Seattle Marriott Waterfront.
Contact Us
Questions? Please call the Seattle Children’s CME office at 206-987-5379.