The Master of Arts in Medical Humanities & Bioethics program presents
A Montgomery Lecture
with
Debjani Mukherjee, PhD
Director, Donnelley Ethics Program
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
Associate Professor
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Medical Education
Faculty, Medical Humanities & Bioethics Graduate Program
Member, Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Cases That Stick: Substituted Judgment and Decision-Making
As a clinical ethics consultant, some cases “stick” or stay with us because of values in tension, unanswerable questions, or strong emotions. In this talk, I will explore the concept of substituted judgment or the standard that surrogate decision-makers are instructed to make decisions as she/he believes the patient would if they could. I will draw on case examples, and literature from disability studies, psychology and clinical ethics to delve into this concept.