Minnesota Mini Bioethics Academy 2014

The University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics is hosting a Mini Bioethics academy, open to anyone interested in learning about and discussing bioethical issues.

Shades of Grey: Ethics and Controversies about Brain Death

• Tuesday, April 22 6:30-8:30 pm


• Mill City Innovation & Collaboration Center – 901 S. Second St., Minneapolis, MN


• Jennifer Needle, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Center for Bioethics; Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota Medical School


• Recent headlines about patients who are declared brain dead but remain on life support have raised questions about what it means to be brain dead. How has the concept and controversy evolved over time for medicine, ethics, religion, and society? Dr. Needle will explore the history and science of brain death, the implications for patients and their families, and how ethics addresses these concepts.

Health Care Directives: Beyond the Document to the Conversation

• Tuesday, April 29 6:30-8:30 pm


• Mill City Innovation & Collaboration Center – 901 S. Second St., Minneapolis, MN


• Joan Liaschenko, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor, Center for Bioethics; Professor, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota


• Health Care Directives have been in existence for 25 years as documents. This talk explores the history of health care directives and critiques them as documents. It suggests that the real value of a health care directive is revealed when it serves to facilitate a conversation between a person and significant others about the inevitability and meaning of one’s death.

The Conversation in the Public Domain

• Tuesday, April 29 6:30-8:30 pm


• Mill City Innovation & Collaboration Center – 901 S. Second St., Minneapolis, MN


• Terri Traudt, MA, Graduate student in Bioethics with emphasis in public awareness and education.


• This talk focuses on a public education initiative aimed at helping people have conversations about advance care planning and health care directives. Specifically, it describes “Honoring Choices Minnesota,” a partnership between several health care systems and community groups, the goal of which is to educate the public on the importance of having a conversation about health care preference with significant others. It explores the history, successes, and challenges of the project.