An Ethics Symposium; Healing Hearts, Ethical Choices

On Friday, October 18th from 8am-4pm, Gerber Institute is proud to partner with Ascension Via Christi and Wichita State University’s College of Health Professionals to bring an Ethics Symposium to the Wichita medical community. This activity is accredited for 6 IPCE credits. We’ll be delving into ethical dilemmas that come up in clinical practices, talking about practical ways to integrate ethical decision making, and much more.

Our speakers include:

Dr. Michele DeMarco

Dr. DeMarco is an award-winning writer and a specialist in the fields of psychology, trauma, health, and spirituality. She is also a professionally trained therapist, clinical ethicist, and researcher who’s spent the last two decades studying trauma generally, moral injury and lost innocence specifically, and resilience. She is one of Medium’s Top Writer’s for Mental Health and Health, respectively, and the author of the Psychology Today blog “Soul Console: Healing from Moral Injury.”

Dr. Donna Ewy

Dr. Ewy is an associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita where she teaches medical students and residents. Her clinical work involves providing medical care for people in long term care and post-acute care settings, and she is also medical director of a local hospice.  Besides her MD degree from KU, Donna holds a master’s degree in theology from Newman, a master’s degree in bioethics from Loyola University Chicago, and she recently achieved a Doctor of Bioethics degree from Loyola University Chicago.  She is now engaged in an Ignatian Wisdom Fellowship at Loyola.

Aimee Burkhart, RN

Aimee Burkhart began her career in medicine in 2005 when she received her certification as an Emergency Medical Technician while serving in the United States Navy as an F/A 18 Avionics Technician. Once she transitioned from active duty, Ms. Burkhart received her Mobile Intensive Care Technician (MICT/Paramedic) degree from Cowley County Community College and worked at Sedgwick County EMS. In 2010 she completed the MICT to RN bridge program at Hutchinson Community college and began her nursing career at the Veterans Health Administration, working on the Medical Surgical Unit and the Operating Room. Ms. Burkhart completed her BSN in 2015 graduating Summa Cum Laude from Regis University, followed by her Master of Science in Health Care Ethics from Creighton University in 2017.  Ms. Burkhart currently works at the Veteran’s Health Administration as a Nurse Care Coordinator and Clinical Ethicist.

Dr. Cliff Arnold

Dr. Arnold is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at COMCARE of Sedgwick County. He studied the Great Books at Notre Dame and then spent seven years before medical school doing all sorts of things all over the world, including teaching middle school in inner city Los Angeles, living in a Catholic Worker homeless shelter for four years, and serving in India, Guatemala, and Uganda.  He completed an MD at Indiana University and an MA in the History and Philosophy of Science at Notre Dame, then he migrated west with his kiddos and wife to her hometown of Wichita for training and a job in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

The schedule for the symposium is as follows:

8:00 AM: Mass
8:30 AM: Coffee
9:00 AM: Dr. DeMarco, Intro
10:00 AM: Aimee Burkhart, “Practical Application of Care Ethics”
11:00 AM: Dr. Ewy, “Using Narratives to Reduce End-of-Life Disparities”
12:00 PM: Lunch
1:00 PM: Dr. Arnold, “From Worry to Wonder: How to Be Present More to What Matters Most”
2:00 PM: Panel Discussion
3:00 PM: Dr. DeMarco, Keynote
4:00 PM: Social Hour with Drinks

To register, visit Healing Hearts, Ethical Choices: An Ethics Symposium – Ascension – Continuing Education (CE) – Healing Hearts, Ethical Choices: An Ethics Symposium (cloud-cme.com)