The Academy for Professionalism in Health Care invites you to a virtual conference for health care professionals with over 12 hours of sessions.

View the Video Invitation

Keynotes
A New Definition of Professionalism
Saleem Razack, MD
Director Office of Social Accountability & Community Engagement – McGill University

Creating a Resilient Organization:
Moving from Post-Traumatic Stress to Post-Traumatic Growth

Christine Sinsky, MD
VP for Professional Satisfaction – AMA

Fireside Chat: Tom Inui, MD, with Dennis Novack, MD

 

If you paid for the in-person conference that was scheduled for April 2020 and canceled, you can attend this virtual conference and the one on June 11, 2021  free of charge. (You should have received an email regarding refunds.) For early bird fee, register before May 17, 2021. See fees below.

 

Conference Agenda – 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET & 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. PT

The fee for this virtual conference is:

Members                          $125

Non-members              $150
Non-members who never attended APHC virtual or in-person event $60
Members who never attended APHC virtual or in-person event $45 

Residents                           $25
Students                             Free

ET	PT	Agenda	Presenter(s)	Title	Type
11:30 - 11:45	8:30 - 8:45	Networking
11:45 - 12:00	8:45 - 9:00	Welcome & Announcements	Gerald Stapleton, Elizabeth Kachur, Tom Harter
12:00 - 12:45	9:00 - 9:45	Keynote	Saleem Razack	A New Definition of Professionalism	Keynote
12:45 - 1:00	9:45 - 10:00	Break & Networking
1:00 - 2:00	10:00 - 11:00	Breakout - 1	Nutan Vaidya	Student/Resident Forum on Professionalism in an Age of Crises	Student/Resident Forum
1:00 - 2:00	10:00 - 11:00	Breakout - 2	Georgina Campella, Susan Mason, Merrilyn Leslie	Voices from the Margins: Important considerations from ethics consultants and community member perspectives	Problem Solving
1:00 - 2:00	10:00 - 11:00	Breakout - 3	Sharon Griswold, Julie Rice, Laura Thodorson, Michele Spotts	The Ethical Imperative of Psychological Safety in Healthcare During COVID and Beyond: What Healthcare Must Adopt from Aviation	Problem Solving
1:00 - 2:00	10:00 - 11:00	Breakout - 4	David Doukas	Reassessing the Professional Contract Between Health Care and Society: Addressing Inequity and Injustice	Interactive Workshop
2:00 - 2:15	11:00 - 11:15	Break & Networking
2:15 - 3:00	11:15 - 12:00	Keynote	Christine Sinsky	Creating a Resilient Organization: Moving from Post-Traumatic Stress to Post-Traumatic Growth	Keynote
3:00- 3:15	12:00 - 12:15	Break  & Networking
3:15 - 4:15	12:15 - 1:15	Breakout - 5	Elizabeth Rider	Lessons for Cultivating Humanistic Organizational Culture in an Age of Crises	Short Presentation
			Jeffrey Loebl	Ethical Billing in the Health Professions: Helping Patients through the Confusion	Short Presentation
			John Spandorfer	Student Evaluations to Improve the Learning Environment: Before and during the pandemic	Short Presentation
3:15 - 4:15	12:15 - 1:15	Breakout - 6	Donald Patthoff & David Ozar	Preserving Professionalism: An Obvious Crisis and a Much Subtler One	Problem Solving
3:15 - 4:15	12:15 - 1:15	Breakout - 7	Sylvia Botros-Brey, Ruth Berggren, Roberto Prestigiacomo	Forum Theatre: A Novel Approach for Teaching to Cope with Mistreatment in the Health Professions Learning Environment	Problem Solving
3:15 - 4:15	12:15 - 1:15	Breakout - 8	Nanette Elster and Elizabeth Shick	Ethical and Professional Considerations for Engaging in Short-term Health Care Programs	Panel Discussion/Problem Solving
4:15 - 4:30	1:15 - 1:30	Break & Networking
4:30 - 5:15	1:30 - 2:15	Fireside Chat	Tom Inui & Dennis Novack
5:15 - 5:30	2:15 - 2:30	Closing Remarks	Stapleton, Kachur & Harter
5:30 - 6:00	2:30 - 3:00	Networking & Feedback	Program Committee Members

Keynote

A New Definition of Professionalism

by Saleem Razack

 

The year 2020 saw the emergence of the global COVID 19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent widespread and international Black Lives Matter protests that it galvanized. In Canada, the death of Indigenous woman, Joyce Echaquan, who filmed and posted her racist treatment in the emergency department on Facebook, hours before her death added another dimension to protests and highlighted that the concerns of the protests are inside hospital walls, in addition to broader society. The inequities of health care systems and outcomes for structurally marginalized patients, while always apparent, have been exposed in a gaping wound of undeniability through this difficult year. The questions asked in the plenary are:  are current constructs of professionalism up to the task of preparing health care professional students to work at addressing these inequities? How have current constructs helped enable the perpetuation of health inequities, i.e. how might they be part of the problem rather than the solution? How ought the teaching and construction of professionalism evolve for greater social justice? Linking cases to theory, the author will explore these questions and hopes to provoke thought and discussion.

Saleem Razack, MD is a Practicing Pediatric Intensive Care Physician and Professor of Pediatrics and Health Sciences Education at McGill University/Montreal Children’s Hospital, in Montreal, Canada. He is the inaugural director of McGill’s Office of Social Accountability and Community Engagement and is a member of McGill’s Institute for Health Sciences Education. His research interests in health professions education broadly concern issues of equity, diversity, inclusion and antiracism, which he studies through both qualitative and quantitative methods.

Keynote

Creating a Resilient Organization: Moving from Post-Traumatic Stress to Post-Traumatic Growth

by Christine A. Sinsky

 

How do we create more resilient organizations—organizations that protect and support the individuals within? While important during ordinary time, this question gains greater urgency during a crisis. The goal is not to make already resilient doctors even more tolerant of chaotic work environments, but rather to make those work environments better- fixing the workplace rather than fixing the worker. Resilient organizations systematically work to prevent and reduce burnout in their workforce, in both ordinary times and during times of crisis. In this session, we will discuss the evidence regarding the impact of the COVID pandemic on physicians and other healthcare workers, present a model of caring for caregivers during crisis, and discuss positive actions organizations can take that will help their clinicians move from post-traumatic stress to post-traumatic growth. Available resources via the AMA’s no-cost Steps Forward toolkits (www.stepsforward.org) will also be presented.

 

Dr. Sinsky is Vice President of Professional Satisfaction at the American Medical Association. A board-certified internist, she practiced at Medical Associates Clinic in Dubuque, Iowa for 32 years. Dr. Sinsky is a member of the Board of Trustees of the ABIM Foundation, serving as Chair from 2018-2020 and also a Master in the American College of Physicians. Dr. Sinsky has worked to improve opportunities for joy, purpose and meaning in work. Publications on “The Quadruple Aim,” “Joy in Practice,” “Texting while Doctoring” and “Creating a Manageable Cockpit for Clinicians” have contributed to the national conversation. She has also contributed to research regarding the prevalence, drivers and solutions to burnout among physicians.

Breakout 1

The Professionalism of the Future

Dr. Nutan Vaidya, Kelsey Spear, Elizabeth Augustine, Dr. Shaurya Sharma, Juaquan Savage

 

Medical professionalism is the ability to subordinate one’s self-interest to that of the patient, adhere to high ethical and moral standards, an appropriate response to societal needs, and the practice of humanism, including empathy, integrity, altruism, and trustworthiness (Swick 2000)

 

ACGME outlines the requirements for trainees as:

 

1. Demonstrate integrity and compassion
2. To subordinate their needs to the needs of patients 
3. To respect patient diversity, privacy, and autonomy
4. To be accountable to patients, society, and the medical profession.

 

One of the fundamental responsibilities of any profession is self-regulation and standards of professional behaviors. Professional attire and professional communications are visible markers of professional behaviors. These factors are heavily influenced by age, gender, ethnicity, and generational differences. Each generation of health care professionals has the right to define professional behaviors for their generation.

 

This presentation will explore views about professional behaviors and professionalism from trainees from diverse backgrounds.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Dr. Nutan Vaidya, and panelists include Kelsey Spear, an M3 and Elizabeth Augustine, a PGY 1 from Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University, Dr. Shaurya Sharma Internal Medicine Chief Resident from Maimonides Medical Center, and Juaquan Savage D3 from the UIC College of Dentistry.  

 

Swick, Herbert M. MD Toward a Normative Definition of Medical Professionalism, Academic Medicine: June 2000 - Volume 75 - Issue 6 - p 612-616  

 

Breakout 2

Voices from the Margins: Important Considerations from Ethics Consultants and Community Member Perspectives

by Tracy Brazg, Susan Mason Merrilynn Leslie and Georgina

This panel discussion will involve two community members in recovery and two clinical bioethicists currently working together to improve communication, address stigma, and build trust between hospitalized patients with substance use disorder and care teams. Panelists will facilitate a conversation around: (1) the value of including people in recovery on hospital ethics committees, (2) diverse perspectives on challenging cases involving patients with SUDs, and (3) discuss strategies for mitigating stigma and discrimination.

 

Tracy Brazg, PhD MSW MPH MA, is Director of Operations, Interprofessional Education at the University of Washington; Susan Mason is Executive Director and Merrilynn Leslie is Program Director at What’s Next Washington in Seattle; and Georgina Campelia PhD HEC-C, is Assistant Professor Department of Bioethics & Humanities at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Breakout 3

The Ethical Imperative of Psychological Safety in Healthcare During COVID and Beyond:
What Healthcare Must Adopt from Aviation

by Sharon Griswold, Julie Rice and Laura Theodorson

The effects of the pandemic are widespread throughout healthcare and health professions education. Calls for personal, physical, or patient safety should never be disregarded or met with retaliation. Everyone’s voice and safety are important.  We know that psychological safety to report concerns has been promoted in other high-risk industries such as aviation as an essential element to ensure safety. Yet, in healthcare, psychological safety is not routinely measured, quantified, or reported. 

Clinician voices must be heard and valued as we evaluation systemic failures in our healthcare and public health systems.  Psychological safety of all members of the healthcare team to report concerns must be a priority.  We need to adopt lessons from other high reliability organizations like aviation to improve the environment for learners and to optimize patient care.

The session will present lessons learned from frontline emergency medicine physicians from a pair of military and civilian aviators.  Critical barriers of hierarchy, hubris, and misrepresentation remain threats to patient safety and learning culture.

Sharon Griswold, MD MPH is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at PennState, Julie Rice., MD MSMS is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Johns Hopkins, Laura Theodorson obtained a Master of Science in Aviation from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, is an airline pilot based at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Washington. She is retired military officer and graduate of the USAF Air War College. 

Breakout 5

Lessons for Cultivating Humanistic Organizational Culture in an Age of Crises

by Elizabeth A. Rider

 

Evolving healthcare organizational and practice environments, increasingly driven by economic factors and business interests, are associated with widespread burnout and dissatisfaction among healthcare professionals and pose barriers to humanistic, person-centered quality care. Part of a national collaborative study at eight sites, we examined organizational aspects that inhibit or promote humanistic teaching and practice. Solutions to date have concentrated on cultivating humanistic qualities in healthcare clinicians, such as interventions to promote resilience and well-being. Our findings suggest that organizational culture is, at a minimum, equally important. We describe features of organizational culture that reinforce humanistic teaching and practice in healthcare institutions, and offer lessons learned and recommendations for organizational change in the time of Covid.

Elizabeth A. Rider, MSW, MD, FAAP, FACH, pediatrician and medical educator, is in the founder and director of the Faculty Fellowships in Humanism and Professionalism, and in Interprofessional Leadership. She is faculty in the Division of General Pediatrics, Boston Children’s Hospital and Department of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Ethical Billing in the Health Professions: Helping Patients through the Confusion

by Jeffrey Loebl

 

This presentation aims to discuss the benefits of providing financial information prospectively to patients to enable them to make informed medical decisions and to encourage assisting patients with the bill. Health care bills, insurance, co-pays, out-of-pocket contributions, and prescription drug coverage are the bane of anyone who has ever received health care. Understanding how much care will cost and whether insurance or other programs will pay for the care is stressful for many patients. Care costs should be treated as an ethical issue interrelated with medical care rather than a separate issue disclosed to a patient after care has been rendered.

 

Jeffrey W. Loebl, d.bioethics from Loyola University Chicago, is a practicing attorney in Ojai, California.

 

Student Evaluations to Improve the Learning Environment: Before and during the pandemic

John Spandorfer

 

In an effort to improve teaching and the learning environment, the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University four years ago modified the system used for students to give feedback to faculty and housestaff. In this evaluation system, students are asked whether they were treated with respect by their clinical teachers and are asked about seven items related to teaching effectiveness. Ratings on each of these items are reviewed by individual faculty, housestaff, department chairs, residency program directors and Deans. Average scores remained approximately stable through three academic years, 2017-2020. Scores significantly improved in the most recent year. During this presentation, details of this system will be reviewed as well as thoughts on why there was improvement this past academic year.

 

John Spandorfer, MD is the Roger Daniels Associate Dean for Professionalism in Medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University.  He is also the current Treasurer of APHC.

 

Breakout 6

Preserving Professionalism: An Obvious Crisis and a Much Subtler One
by Donald Patthoff and David Ozar

In 2008, at a point in time when healthcare professionals’ duty to treat was being seriously debated, Malm and co-authors argued forcefully that healthcare professionals do not undertake an obligation to accept serious risk when this is required to provide healthcare to those who need it, and especially so “as that duty would arise in the context of an infectious disease pandemic” (“Ethics, Pandemics, and the Duty to Treat,” (The American Journal of Bioethics, 8(8): 4–19, 2008). Nevertheless, in the face of the Covid pandemic, the vast majority of healthcare professionals not only continued to serve the needs of the pandemic’s victims and face the risks involved, but in many cases volunteered to work extra hours and in some cases travel to other parts of the country where caregivers were in short supply. They revealed the most admirable practices of each of their healthcare professions during the Covid crises and arguably demonstrated their conviction that they had indeed accepted a duty to treat even in the face of significant personal risk. Our thesis in this session is that this is not the only crisis that the health professions currently face; the crisis of growing commercialism threatens every one of our health professions. We want to propose that similar levels of commitment and sacrifice will be needed if this crisis is to be dealt with in ways that preserve what is essential to professional healthcare practice. For this subtler crisis will not only return in “ordinary times,” but will remain and can easily grow into an even more serious challenge to professionalism in each of the health professions.

This interactive problem solving session will ask participants to compare the challenges to professionalism that arose for the healthcare professions during this pandemic to those in that arise from commercialism in "ordinary" times and ask them to consider concrete actions that they might take, as more “ordinary times” return, for the preservation of professionalism.

David T. Ozar, PhD, is Emeritus Professor, Department of Philosophy, at Loyola University Chicago; a Member and Consulting Ethicist on the Institutional Ethics Committee at NorthShore University Health System; Chair of the Steering Committee of the Unrepresented Patients Project for Illinois. Donald E. Patthoff, DDS, is in Private Dental Practice in Martinsburg WV; Chair of the Ethics Committee at WVU Berkeley Medical Center; Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Laser Dentistry; and Chair of the Ethics Committee at the Academy of Laser Dentistry.

Breakout 8

Ethical and Professional Considerations for Engaging in Short-term Health Care Programs

by Nanette Elster, Elizabeth Shick

 

Health care professionals, students and trainees frequently engage in volunteer global health work in Low-and Middle- Income Countries as well as low-income areas in the US. There is a paucity of guidelines and recommendations for best practices to inform professionals. This presentation will start with a discussion about current topics and trends in ethical and professional engagement in Short-Term Experiences in Global Health (STEGHs) and domestic short-term charitable events.  This will be followed by a workshop to brainstorm with attendees on priority issues and strategies to address them.  All are welcome to engage and contribute to the discussion.  

 

Nanette Elster, JD, MPH, is Associate Professor, Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Manager for Ethics Outreach at the American Dental Association and the Communications Director for the American College of Dentists. Elizabeth Shick, DDS, MPH, Director of Global Health Initiatives, University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine and Center for Global Health.