CALL FOR PAPERS:
Is Medical Ethics Really in the Best Interest of the Patient?
http://www.crb.uu.se/symposia/2010/
http://www.crb.uu.se/symposia/2010/call.html
Medical Ethics Conference
14-16 June 2010, Uppsala, Sweden
Abstract submission deadline: February 15
Medical ethics is practised by doctors and nurses on an everyday basis. It is also a rapidly expanding academic discipline and ethical review boards for medical research play a key role in the life sciences. The primary concern is, or at least should be, the best interest of current and future patients. But is this really so?
This multi-disciplinary international conference will raise questions about some of the key ethical issues of concern regarding medical research. The possibility to increase knowledge about diagnosis, prevention and treatment of disease is the primary motive of medical research. Ethics is there in order to protect patients and promote their interests. But is medical ethics instrumental to this end?
The conference discusses three themes:
1. Should ideology be allowed to trump patient well-being?
2. What is the role of informed consent in medical research?
3. Ethical review boards: are they important ethical safeguards or over-burdensome and unnecessary bureaucracy?
Call for abstracts
This conference is divided into three themes, one for each day of the conference. Each theme has three keynote presentations that will be followed by oral presentations in parallel sessions.
* Monday June 14
Should ideology be allowed to trump patient well-being?
* Tuesday June 15
What is the role of informed consent in medical research?
* Wednesday June 16
Ethical review boards: are they important ethical safeguards or over-burdensome and unnecessary bureaucracy?
We wanted to be a little provocative but, as the examples of questions indicate, we expect input both regarding "medical ethics as unduly bureaucratic" and "researchers as lazy when they complain about this alleged bureaucracy". We think that both ideology and prudence may in practice play a role both in clinical decision-making and in medical research ethics, but think that medical ethics, and the patients, would benefit from a clearer understanding of their relationship and their proper roles. We welcome presentations on medical research ethics as well as clinical ethics and encourage both empirical and theoretical contributions including discussions about different philosophical approaches to these issues. The abstracts will be peer reviewed and a notification of acceptance is due in March 2010.
On this basis we invite scholars of all disciplines and medical practitioners to submit abstracts.
The Scientific Committee welcomes the submission of abstracts for oral presentation for the conference. Abstracts should be submitted according to the guidelines below [for instructions, see their web page http://www.crb.uu.se/symposia/2010/call.html].
Accepted abstracts will be published in the Final programme and on the conference website. Presenting authors must register and pay the registration fee when submitting an abstract. If the abstract is not accepted, the registration fee is refundable.
Submission deadline is 15 February 2010.
We welcome your contribution!
Mats G. Hansson and Ruth Chadwick