By E. Antonio
Knowing where you stand when it comes to making healthcare decisions –– for yourself or for a loved one –– can be challenging, especially when ethical questions arise.
Carman’s Active Living Centre (ALC) aims to make those decisions easier by hosting a three-part healthcare ethics and decision-making series from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 4, 12 and 26.
The sessions will be led by Carman’s own Katarina Lee-Ameduri, Director of Ethics for the Réseau Compassion Network and a clinical ethicist based at St. Boniface Hospital. She is also an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Manitoba and chairs the ethics councils for both St. Boniface Hospital and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
The series is open to all community members, regardless of age, profession or background.
“Everybody will be involved in healthcare at some point in their life,” Lee-Ameduri said. “Whether it’s as a patient or while caring for a loved one, it’s important that everyone understands these issues and has the same access to information as healthcare professionals.”
According to Lynne Wilkinson of the ALC, the idea for the series came from a desire to expand evening programming and offer meaningful opportunities for community engagement.
“Short, themed series have been well received in the past, focusing on topics such as history and film,” Wilkinson said. “To get people out on a cold winter evening, I was looking for something that would interest many people and be beneficial, and we all have to navigate the healthcare system at some point.”
Wilkinson described Lee-Ameduri as a “gifted speaker,” having heard her present at previous events. “I am grateful to Katarina for sharing her expertise on such relevant topics,” she added.
Each session will include an informative presentation, a fictional case example and a question-and-answer period designed to help participants gain confidence in navigating healthcare ethics.
The first session will focus on the basic principles of ethical decision-making, including autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice, and how these concepts relate to informed consent. Lee-Ameduri described it as “an introduction to understanding how decision-making works.”
“I want people to understand how to make ethical choices and how to advocate for themselves or others in healthcare settings,” she said. “It’s about feeling more comfortable with the decision-making process when the need arises.”
The second session will explore advance care planning and surrogate decision-making—topics that become especially important when individuals are no longer able to make medical decisions on their own.
The final session will focus on ethics in long-term care, particularly the concept of the “dignity of risk.” Lee-Ameduri noted that long-term care is a growing and unique community, and she hopes to shed light on the challenges healthcare workers face when balancing safety and personal autonomy.
“The dignity of risk means allowing someone to make choices, even when there is some level of risk involved,” she explained. “It’s a tension between dignity and paternalism.”
Examples include decisions around food choices, medication, personal care, or whether a resident should be permitted to go outdoors when conditions are less than ideal.
Overall, Lee-Ameduri hopes participants leave the series feeling confident in their role as decision-makers and with a greater appreciation for ethics as an accessible and engaging topic.
All sessions are free to attend. Doors will open at 6:45 p.m., 15 minutes before each presentation begins.
