A note from the Web Editor Brenda Mears, MD, FAAP

Good morning everyone,

You can now register online at the NCE Web site for the National Conference & Exhibition. Our section meeting this year will be a joint meeting with the Section on Perinatal Pediatrics on Sunday, October 12 starting at 8:00 am on “The Limits of Viability: The Intersection of Medicine, Ethics and the Law.” This year we will have a Section luncheon for which you will need a ticket. The formal name is “Section on Bioethics William G. Bartholome Award for Ethical Excellence Luncheon Program," and is called "catered event C9" in the registration program. We are also sponsoring a meeting, “X1065-Physician Referral to Provide Treatment: What are the ethical issues?” on Saturday, October 11 at 12:30 pm. Check the Upcoming Events page on our Web site for more information about both AAP and non AAP meetings.

The Section on Bioethics Executive Committee has completed a project to summarize and comment on AAP Committee on Bioethics authored policies. It has been published in 3 parts by Pediatrics in Review online.The references are: Pediatrics in Review 2008;29:e1-e8, Pediatrics in Review 2008;29:315-e22 and Pediatrics in Review. 2008;29:e28-e34. The original policies may be reached at the AAP Policy Finder site.  They may also be found on our section web site at our AAP Policy page. That file is an alphabetical selection of policies and reports which may be of interest to someone interested in ethical issues. The dates of publication, reaffirmation, revision or retirement are indicated for most of the policies.

There is always a variety of information available on internet. Virtual Mentor has upcoming issues on gender based medicine, informed consent and neonatal care. The National Conference of State Legislatures Web site sometimes has useful information. Nature has a streaming video archive. You will need a flash browser plugin but there is a link for one on the page. Nature Reviews Stem Cell Collection is now available.  NIH has a page on public access to archived publications under the new rules. ReachMD is a channel on XM satellite radio specifically for “medical professionals.” ISPCAN  has a program called “Cultural Competence in Child Maltreatment Prevention and Intervention.”  The discussions are linked from http://www.ispcan.org/forum/.

In some states ethics cme is required for licensure renewal. I imagine most of us just need to document our current activities. If you need sources, a number are available online. Texas Medical Association maintains a list of online and home studies in ethics for physicians. The British Medical Journal has a program called BMJ Learning. The modules include 2 on cardiopulmonary resuscitation as follows: 1. Decisions relating to cardiopulmonary resuscitation - part 1: patients with capacity.  2. Decisions relating to cardiopulmonary resuscitation - part 2: adults who lack capacity.  The Journal of the American Medical Association has cme articles also. For example: 1. Harrington SE, Smith TJ. The Role of Chemotherapy at the End of Life: When Is Enough, Enough?  JAMA 2008;299(22): 2667-2678.  2. Applbaum AI, et al. A Family’s Request for Complementary Medicine after Patient Brain Death. JAMA. 2008;299(18):2188-2193.  New England Journal of Medicine also has programs. Of course, don’t forget AAP’s Pedialink which has a hot topic course on “Medical Liability and the Pediatrician.”  Many of these links may also be reached through our Web site page Continuing Medical Education.

The latest update of the Section Web site should soon be available. Although parts of the site are accessible to the general public, you will need to sign in to take full advantage of what is available. The Section front page has a number of links to various pages including our essay contest winning essays and the link to the Bartholome award page. The subject for the latest contest is perinatal or neonatal medicine. Residents, fellows, young physicians and community physicians who have never published a peer reviewed article may enter. The essay is limited to 1000 words and 5 references. The various Publications pages have been updated. Since many works might be classified in various ways check alternate pages and headings. The news links from the general information emails are archived at News Archive. Please remember that some Web links deteriorate rapidly so we are archiving only about 6 months of information. I have the older files on my computer if you should need a particular one.

These projects are intended to be useful or at least interesting to Section members. I would appreciate your feedback on the new as well as old pages and suggestions for additions. Other additions being considered include adding lists for television shows and literature by and about physicians. If anyone is interested in constructing such a list let me know.

I am always glad to receive your emails whatever the subject. Any information and references you send me I try to include in the next update. Of course, any member may use the LISTSERV® e-mail list at Bioethics@listserv.aap.org. If you are not receiving at least occasional messages from me let me know at bjmears@arboroaks.com.

Most but not all members of the Section on Bioethics are part of the LISTSERV® e-mail list. If you wish to join or remove yourself from the list, you may send a message to me (bjmears@arboroaks.com) or to Alison (abaker@aap.org).

My thanks to Alison Baker and Heather Hayes from AAP, the AAP Grand Rounds staff and the members of the section executive committee who all provide assistance on the ongoing projects of the section.

Brenda Jean Mears

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