Do You Believe in Miracles? Productively Engaging Patients’ Hopes for a Miracle

Speakers: Devan Stahl, PhD, HEC-C, and Trevor M. Bibler, PhD,
HEC-C.

How should clinicians respond to a patient’s or family’s hope for a “miracle”? What if the family’s hope for a miracle means continuing on a recovery-focused path even when clinicians believe recovery is not possible and further life-sustaining treatment is non-beneficial? This presentation will frame the discussion of miracle language and offer practical guidance on working with patients and families who invoke miracle language during a patient’s hospital stay.

Learning Objectives: After this webinar, attendees will be able to:

-Classify and distinguish between the most common ways patients/families use miracle language.
-Describe the ethical tensions that emerge when families request that clinicians continue non-beneficial care in the hopes a miracle will occur.
-Identify a set of strategies for productively engaging with patients/families who expect miracles.

Unpacking Bedside Bioethics is a quarterly professional development seminar series delivered by the Center for Bioethics. Speakers discuss foundational bioethics concepts, identify ethical dilemmas in clinical cases, & explain how to apply bioethical frameworks to resolve those dilemmas. This interprofessional series is designed for professionals who work in health related fields and health professions students. This is an event of the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs (OACA), hosted by the Center for Bioethics.

Certificate of Attendance will not be given for watching the recording; it will only be given to those attending the Zoom webinar.

Devan Stahl, PhD, HEC-C, is an Associate Professor of Bioethics and Religion at Baylor University and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Education, Innovation, and Technology at the Baylor College of Medicine. She specializes in theological bioethics, disability ethics, and the visual arts within medicine. Dr. Stahl volunteers as a clinical ethicist consultant for the Supportive and Palliative Care Team at Baylor, Scott, and White Hillcrest and has trained as a hospital chaplain. She also co-hosts the popular bioethics podcast, Bioethics for the People.

Trevor M. Bibler, PhD, HEC-C, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine and the Bioethics Program Director at Houston Methodist Hospital. He is a clinical ethicist with a background in religious studies. Dr. Bibler was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Clinical Bioethics at BCM and Houston Methodist Hospital from July 2014-March 2016. In 2014, he earned his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Vanderbilt University. He teaches a variety of audiences and writes on religion and medicine, methods in clinical ethics, and novel clinical technologies.