Masters Thesis

A culturally humble bioethics practice model for pediatric medical social workers

Ethics in general are a complex and nuanced matter, and this is especially so in medical settings where patients and families are facing decision-making related to health and well-being. The inherently complex nature o f ethics in medical decision-making is compounded in pediatric settings when questions arise in the context of the larger family system with multiple players engaged in the process of seeking answers (Ronen & Rosenbaum, 2017). This is especially so in cases of complex and life-threatening illness in children, when intense emotions such as guilt, fear, confusion, misery, and desperation are added to the equation introducing further ambiguity into the ethics o f decisionmaking. The nuanced nature of bioethical considerations and the inherent complexity of medical decision-making indicate the importance of a patient/family-centered culturally humble approach to bioethics consultation. Social workers are uniquely suited to work in this capacity due to the foundational ethical principles that define social work ethos, govern curriculum in academic settings, and guide practice and research within the field. The information and suggested model of ethics consultation presented in this thesis are intended to promote increased engagement of pediatric medical social workers in ethics consultation services in hospital settings, which are currently led primarily by physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals.

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