17th ICCEC in Rome

The 17th ICCEC meeting has taken place on June 7-10, 2023 at the “A. Gemelli” School of Medicine, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome (Italy). The theme of the conference was “Clinical Ethics: Consultation and/or Education?”

This topic seems more relevant than ever now that the numerous experiences of clinical ethics consultations (CEC) on a global scale indicate two trends that must be confronted. On one hand, sometimes CECs can lack an appropriate training and/or a clear reference of values, thus providing a low level when it comes to the actual consultation. On the other hand, when the training is indeed provided, CECs can still run the risk of being conceived merely as the application of a set of knowledge, without being able to find their truest application and added value in the concrete clinical setting.