Ethics: Navigating Value Conflicts and Acute Refusals in Burn Care
When a patient fighting to live suddenly refuses care, how should clinicians honor their voice without abandoning their duty to heal?
Login to Register- Location:
- Virtual/Online
- Date:
- November 05, 2025
- Time:
- 12:00pm – 1:00pm (Central Standard Time)
Burn care providers often face ethically complex situations when patients express momentary refusals of treatment despite an overarching desire to survive. In this thought-provoking interactive session, Anna D. Goff, PhD, examines the nuanced balance between respecting patient autonomy and fulfilling the duty of beneficence. Drawing on real-world cases and ethical frameworks, this session will help clinicians thoughtfully navigate refusals that arise in the context of acute, high-stakes care.
Learning Objectives:
Identify the ethical tensions between patient autonomy and beneficence in burn care decision-making.
Distinguish between global treatment refusals and acute, situational refusals within the context of survival-oriented goals.
Apply ethical reasoning strategies to address real-time treatment refusals while maintaining trust and patient-centered care.
Speaker:
Anna D. Goff, PhD, HEC-C
Clinical Ethics Fellow
Weill Cornell Medicine