On Jan. 25 and 26, the UTRGV School of Medicine will host the Inaugural Clinical Bioethics Symposium to explore questions regarding ethics in health care.
Rabbi Claudio Kogan, the director of the UTRGV Institute of Bioethics and Social Institute, said the symposium will discuss ethics in the medical field, as it plays a strong role in this field. He gave the example of professionals needing to use ethics properly when delivering negative news.
Kogan, who also is a medical doctor, describes ethics as “kind of a balance … and that’s one of the purposes of the symposium, to bring awareness of that.”
Among the 10 speakers are Dr. James Castillo II, of Doctors Hospital at Renaissance; Deepu George, an assistant professor; Dr. Alice Marcee, senior associate vice president for Business and Program Development in the School of Medicine; and Dr. Henry Weisman, a professor of psychiatry in the School of Medicine.
Registration for health care professionals interested in attending is $200. UTRGV medical students and residents are invited to attend at no cost. All attendees must have pre-registered through ePay before Jan. 16.
Brayden Chamberlain, a sophomore medical student, believes the symposium is necessary.
“There is issues we need to address,” Chamberlain said regarding the health care system.
Before the two-day conference, there will be a pre-symposium activity on Friday, honoring the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Extermination Camp. The pre-symposium, which is open to the public, will take place from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in the School of Medicine Auditorium, located at 1210 W. Schunior St. in Edinburg.
The goal of this activity is to educate on the Holocaust and raise awareness to ensure it is never repeated. Dr. Matthew Wynia, director of the Colorado Center of Bioethics and Kogan will lead the presentation.
Jaylin Aleman, a psychology freshman, said it is important to learn about the Holocaust.
“It’s our history, and we don’t know much about it, unless, like, we hear about it one-on-one,” Aleman said.
The symposium will also take place in the School of Medicine auditorium, from 7 to 9:45 p.m. Jan. 25 and 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Jan. 26.
