Program In Bioethics, Law And Medical Professionalism

Our Mission

The mission of the Bioethics, Law and Medical Professionalism Program is to provide outstanding instruction, professional development and cultural competency to manage the complex health care dilemmas being addressed locally, nationally and internationally. Our program addresses issues in humanities, social sciences, health policy, health law and medical professionalism for medical students, residents and practicing physicians, as well as other healthcare professionals.

Research, teaching and service activities of the program focus on developing the knowledge base and skills to provide humane, compassionate care in today’s complex social and medico-legal environment. Areas of research interest for the program include aging, end-of-life issues, and advances in genetic technology.

Bioethics touches everyone. To understand this, here is a list of topics to consider: cloning, DNA research, end-of-life treatment and decisions, genetic modification, physician-aid-in-dying, confidentiality, HIV and AIDS, parental decision-making, and spirituality and medicine.

Core BLMP Faculty

William L Allen
Department: MD-BIOETHICS LAW / MEDICINE

William L Allen JD, MDiv

Associate Professor
Phone: (352) 273-5155
Bryan Cwik
Department: MD-BIOETHICS LAW / MEDICINE

Bryan Cwik Ph.D.

Associate Professor
Phone: (352) 273-5138
Ray E Moseley
Department: MD-BIOETHICS LAW / MEDICINE

Ray E Moseley PhD

Associate Professor
Phone: (352) 273-5150
Lauren B Solberg
Department: MD-BIOETHICS LAW / MEDICINE

Lauren B Solberg JD, MTS

Associate Professor & Program Director
Phone: (352) 273-5142
Ly-Le Tran
Department: MD-BIOETHICS LAW / MEDICINE

Ly-Le Tran MD, JD, FCLM

Adjunct Associate Professor
Phone: (352) 273-5155

Associated BLMP Faculty

Leslie Avery
Department: MD-PEDS-CRITICAL CARE DIVISION

Leslie Avery M.D.

Chief And Clinical Associate Professor
Phone: (352) 265-0462
Michelle E Jacobs-Elliott
Department: MD-PSYCHIATRY

Michelle E Jacobs-Elliott M.D.

Assistant Professor & Assistant Dean For Health Care Excellence, Community And Belonging
Phone: (352) 392-1575
Rohit P Patel
Department: Department of Emergency Medicine

Rohit P Patel M.D.

Clinical Associate Professor; Associate Chief, Division Of Critical Care Medicine; Co-Director, Emergency Medicine Critical Care Fellowship; Co-Director, Surgical Intensive Care Unit; Director, Critical Care Ultrasound, Surgical ICU
Phone: (352) 265-5911
Nina C Stoyan-Rosenzweig
Department: LB-HSC – GENERAL

Nina C Stoyan-Rosenzweig

Archivist & Sen Assoc In Libraries
Phone: (352) 273-8406

Core Program Faculty are faculty members in the Department of Community Health and Family Medicine.

Associated Program Faculty are faculty members in CHFM as well as other departments/colleges in the UF Health Science Center. They support the BLMP Core Program Faculty and contribute to teaching bioethics to medical students throughout all four years of the curriculum.

Many healthcare choices involve an ethical concern or conflict. Ethical concerns may be triggered by events such as a patient’s wish to refuse seemingly tolerable life-sustaining treatment, or by patients and/or family members requesting treatments that are likely to be harmful. Difficult decisions can quickly become overwhelming. The ethics consultant is available to hear such concerns and provide recommendations informed by ethical analyses, a large bioethics literature, and Florida law.

Requests for a consultation may be made by the patient, a family member, the physician, the social worker, nurse or other staff member. To request a consultation, one can call the Ethics Consult Service number (352-265-8900) to send a message to the consultant on call. The ethics consultant will then attempt to return the call within 24 hours. Most requests receive a response on the same day. Hospital staff may request an ethics consultation directly via SPOK (search for “ETHICS – Ethics Consult Team – Primary First Call”).

The goal of this process is to promote the best possible medical care in situations wherein the available options all seem to be disappointing or inadequate. Concerns about the ethics of a situation or treatment recommendation can often be resolved via a discussion with the ethics consultant. More serious issues are taken up by a subgroup of several ethics consultants who discuss the situation at hand and formulate one or more recommendations. The most serious issues result in Ethics Consultation Team meetings in which a larger group of consultants develop a careful analysis and recommendations. Sometimes it is helpful to schedule a meeting that might include the patient, family members, and members of the treatment team as well as members of the Ethics Consultation Team. Recommendations are then shared with the patient, family, and the care team as appropriate. Lastly, the physician in charge of the patient’s care may choose to follow some or all of those recommendations while in consultation with the patient, family, and care team members.

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