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Dalton News
Dr. Joseph Fins Speaks with Dalton Bioethics Class
Dr. Fins, Chief of Medical Ethics at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College, sat down with Dalton students to talk about disorders of consciousness after brain injury and the rights of individuals who are in a minimally conscious state.
As part of his visit, Dr. Fins shared a detailed presentation with Dalton Biology teacher Ron Schollenberger and his Bioethics class, comprised of Grade 11 and 12 students. The talk included a history of medical studies on traumatic brain injuries as well as the neuroethical dilemmas that come with determining levels of human consciousness.
"The ethics aspect of the presentation was strongly tied to many of our conversations in our Bioethics class", said Vanessa Nasser '19. "We often discuss the roles and rights that doctors have in terms of 'pulling the plug' on a patient, or just simply how they choose to handle the circumstances that their patient is in. His presentation discussed the idea that often times doctors have the wrong impression of a patient's consciousness, which might lead them to think they are in an appropriate state to let them go. This is extremely problematic, as we learned in the presentation that we can not solely rely on the exterior/physical state of a patient."
One of Dr. Fin's topics centered around the difference between "permanent vegetative states" and "chronic vegetative states," which he explains in detail in his book, Rights Come to Mind. He shared that individuals who are often pronounced as non-responsive are misdiagnosed, and it's essential for the medical field to recognize the rights of these individuals who may still be conscious and have the capacity to recover, given the proper medical resources and time.
It was incredible to see just how quickly the scientific community's understanding of the minimally conscious state has changed", said Ava Mohajer '19. It is hard to believe how many people thought to be in permanent vegetative states were actually minimally conscious. This is an incredibly important subject of research, as it relates to human rights. It brings up a discussion of the rights of the patients to be given ample time to heal and to live as minimally conscious if they wanted to. The rights of the patients and the duties of their doctors are topics of discussion we have thoroughly investigated in Bioethics class.
"I thought Dr. Fins did a great job", said Mr. Schollenberger. "A wonderful presentation that flowed seamlessly through the medical science and technologies, history and bioethics of this fascinating and challenging topic. The kids were deeply immersed in what he had to say, and they asked thoughtful questions. He was quite complimentary of the students and told me afterward that he was hoping he could present for an hour and a half next year."
We want to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Fins for visiting our community, as well as Mr. Schollenberger and Dalton faculty member Stephanie Fins for coordinating this wonderful experience for our students.
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