An Ethical Challenge in the Pediatric Cardiac ICU: Balancing Hope Versus Harm With Heroic Intervention

Bonus CE Session Moderator(s)

• 

  Aimee Jennings, CPNP, FCCM (she/her/hers)

  Associate Chief, Advanced Practice Providers
  Seattle Children's Hospital
  Seattle, Washington

Thanks to significant medical and surgical advancements and innovations during the past century, most children with critical heart disease can hope to live a long and healthy life. But despite these advancements, some children do not respond to conventional therapies and are at high risk of death. Under these dire circumstances, some families and medical teams search for alternative therapies that might help save the child’s life, and sometimes unconventional cardiac surgical or catheter-based interventions are considered. These interventions are often unproven, with unclear risks and benefits. The use of unconventional heroic therapies can in some cases be lifesaving and in other cases only place additional burdens on the child without a positive outcome.

Presentations:

• Heroics in the Pediatric Cardiac ICU: An Ethical Decision-Making Framework for High-Risk Interventions for Dying Children
• Building a Culture of Moral Support and Resilience in the Pediatric Cardiac ICU
• Leveraging Innovative Organization Ethics Teams to Improve the Care of Patients, Families, and Staff in the Pediatric Cardiac ICU