(Taken from the Facebook Invite: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=7264684307&ref=share)
Date: Saturday, January 17, 2009
Time: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Location: University of Toronto, St. George Campus
City/Town: Toronto, ON
Contact Info
Email: healthlawconference@gmail.com
Headlines in the west cry foul over the closure of a provincial needle exchange program. Human rights advocates clash with policy makers in the south over mandatory pregnancy screening for transmissible diseases. Hospital strikes in the east protest new hiring policies in healthcare facilities. As examples of present and emerging controversies in healthcare, these scenarios depict a rapidly approaching future where changing healthcare environments pose professionally interdependent problems and, in turn, demand cross-disciplinary solutions.
Though the provision of quality health care and the intricacies of our legal system are inseparable, students of these fields are rarely adequately taught about the issues that lie at their crossroads. Indeed, the pressures on modern curricula have left little room for the exploration, education, and engagement of healthcare and law students in the intricate issues that lie at the nexus of healthcare and law. Yet never has it been more vital for future healthcare workers and lawyers to come together to gain an understanding of the perspectives unique to each profession and the potentials for collaborative solutions. While these can be addressed by working professionals, it is essential that this interaction take place now, among the students of these professions, as future collaborations on medico-legal issues will succeed only to the extent that practitioners can experientially relate to the benefits of past interactions.
The First Annual Health Law Conference
We therefore propose to host the First Annual Health Law Conference: Interprofessional Responses to Medico-Legal Challenges here at the University of Toronto. This will be a one-day conference which will bring together students from the Faculties of Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Social Work, Law, and Medicine – which includes Medicine, Speech Language Pathology, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Medical Radiation Sciences – to explore, educate, and engage them in an interprofessional dialogue focused on three key themes: Public Health, Reproductive Rights, and Healthcare Policy. Students will have the opportunity to delve into these issues with leading researchers and policy makers in each field, engage in discussions with expert panels, reinforce their learning through breakout sessions, and network with fellow students throughout the event. By encouraging these discussions between future healthcare and legal professionals, this conference will emphasize the necessary but often ignored collaboration that is not only of interest to students, but also one which is infrequently and inadequately addressed through regular curricula. Most importantly though, the sharing of thoughts and debate on the complex issues situated at the crossroads of these professions will lead to more informed and responsive healthcare teams and ultimately, improved patient care.
Which issues will this conference address?
The topic of this year’s conference is embodied in its subtitle: Interprofessional Responses to Medico-Legal Challenges. Specifically, we will explore three principle themes:
1. Public Health
When does harm reduction become harm promotion?
2. Reproductive Rights
What are the ethical implications of reproductive technologies?
3. Healthcare Policy
To what extent should euthanasia be legalized?
These three themes were chosen to encourage conference participants to view the debates and presentations included in the event as a chance to both appreciate the interdependent nature of medico-legal issues and to encourage debate on potential resolutions.
In order to inform participants of necessary background information and stimulate informed discussions, each theme will begin with a keynote speaker followed by a question and answer session led by an expert panel representing both the health and legal professions and lastly, end off with case-based breakout sessions. Question and answer periods following speaker presentations will provide students with an opportunity to voice their opinions and appreciate differing viewpoints.
