Catholic Bioethics and Practical Concerns for Caregivers

Dr. Alexis Dallara-Marsh, a neurologist, reviews a free course from Ave Maria University on Catholic bioethics.

Catholic Bioethics: Current Issues is a course presented by the Pursuit of Wisdom program at Ave Maria University. The university provides free educational workshops on a variety of topics which can be listened to online. In this particular discussion, led by associate professor of nursing Diann Ecret, each of three segment addresses foundations of important bioethical topics today. The introductory video outlines why be called to care for the sick.

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The speaker, DiAnn Ecret, a nurse with 37 years of experience, highlights Christ's caring for "untouchables," with more than 1/3 of the Gospel accounts detailing His healing of the sick. Human dignity is valuable and what unites us as children of God. In section 2 of the course, there are quotes from Scripture detailing how God is the creator, not human beings, and that often we can have a false sense of autonomy, particularly with the many advancements of technology in our day and age.

As a neurologist, however, I was most interested in the final segment which concentrated on end of life care. The certainty of human life is that it will end in death. How do we approach the elderly and flail with compassion? How can we ensure our loved ones die a "good death"? What are the differences for healthcare providers regarding an obligation to providing ordinary versus extraordinary care? Practical questions such as thinking of where one wants to die, or how much one wants to rely on artificial means of life support, are also brought up.

I found this is a course primarily centering on the role of nursing. It is a course good to listen to on audio, as at times the presenter appears reading off notes and sometimes her language is a bit hard to follow. Ultimately, though, it might be easier to read along with a printed transcript if that was available. I do like that there is a brief outline of the topics that helps one jump ahead if interested. There are also a few brief reflection questions provided. I do like how it relatively easy to jump between sections and that if I skipped over to the second section, my timestamp was saved from the previous section.

This would be a great reference course for those in healthcare as well as those outside of this field who are called to caring for a loved one in a vulnerable state, especially the unborn or the dying. Learn more about this course and others offered at ThePursuitOfWisdom.org.

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