Synopsis
In recent years, paediatric health care settings in Australia and across North America have entrenched their commitment to families in organizational policies, programs, practices and public materials. Providing care that is sensitive to a family’s values and context has come to be recognized as beneficial for the paediatric patient. However prioritising the wishes of families above all else can result in falling short in fulfilling duties to the patient.
In this Grand Rounds, Canadian paediatric bioethicist Randi Zlotnik Shaul will provide an overview of the important distinctions between the models of patient-centred care and family-centred care. She will discuss why these distinctions matter both ethically and legally. Randi will describe the model of Child and Family-Centred Care developed at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and discuss case examples that highlight the risks and opportunities associated with these models of care.
Speaker
Randi Zlotnik Shaul JD, LLM, PhD, is the Director of the Bioethics Department and Senior Associate Scientist in Child Health Evaluative Sciences at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada. In that role, Randi provides bioethics consultation services and policy support, teaches health care professionals and bioethics students, and conducts bioethics research. Randi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto and is a member of the University of Toronto’s Joint Centre for Bioethics. Prior to studies in bioethics Randi practiced law at the Ontario Ministry of Health. Randi completed a degree in political science at McGill University, received her Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from Osgoode Hall Law School and a Master of Laws and PhD from the University of Toronto. Randi’s current research focuses on paediatric health care challenges at the intersection of ethics and law. She publishes in bioethics, medical, health policy and law journals. Randi is the editor of the book Paediatric Patient and Family-Centred Care: Ethical Legal Issues.