Singapore, May 27, 2017
As the President of the Jury I have the pleasure and the honor to announce the winner of the Hans Joachim Schwager Award for Clinical Ethics of this year. We are celebrating the project on the occasion of the 13th International Conference on Clinical Ethics & Consultation (ICCEC) in Singapore. The winner is
Prof. Civaner, MD, from the Uludag University, School of Medicine,
Department of Medical Ethics, Bursa, Turkey.
The winning project’s title is
“Clinical Ethics Consultation in Uludag University Centre for Health, Practice and Research”
It describes the development and work of a Hospital Ethics Committee that was newly built and was among the first to function properly in the whole country.
While specific challenges exist, as for example the difficult handling of medical paternalism, the Committee is addressed frequently by patients (in 60% of the cases) – an experience that is rare in many other places and certainly worth more attention. Patient requests concern issues related to their rights, denial of necessary care as well as violations of confidentiality and privacy. Moreover, the Committee is struggling with physicians’ doubts or resistance: “I can solve ethical problems on my own” or fear of intervention into their professional integrity.
What I particularly like about his proposal is the balance between a realistic analysis of the problems and its optimism.
“In spite of the difficulties, the Uludag University Hospital Ethics Committee still has its meaningful role to play in improving healthcare and reducing cases of violation of rights. Therefore, it is possible to claim that the experience is valuable as a guide to new HECs to be launched in Turkey and in other countries.”
We wish the winner and the winning project success and satisfaction in their work!
It is also my pleasure to announce the presentation of the winning project on Saturday, May 27, 11.30-11.50h.
I will now congratulate the winner.
Prof. Dr. Stella Reiter-Theil, Dipl.-Psych.
President of Jury Hans Joachim Schwager Award, Co-Director of ICCEC
