Georgetown University Medical Center

Edmund Pellegrino Endowment for Visiting Scholars in Clinical Bioethics

Section: Edmund Pellegrino Endowment

Georgetown University's Center for Clinical Bioethics has established the Edmund Pellegrino Endowment for Visiting Scholars in Clinical Ethics. The establishment of this endowment ensures a permanent tribute to Dr. Pellegrino's pursuit of excellence in the fields of medicine and medical ethics. Our goal is to continue to raise gifts to increase the basis of this endowment in order to use the revenue to offer small grants to assist Visiting Scholars with expenses associated with their stay at Georgetown University.

The Center's Visiting Scholar Program attracts scholars from the U.S. and abroad. Visiting Scholars may be junior scholars involved in completion of dissertations for higher degrees, or more senior scholars at a post-doctoral level who wish to pursue a particular research project. Visiting Scholars may apply for any length of time desired to pursue research on clinical ethics and bioethics projects. Many of our scholars come from areas of the world which have limited resources. Moreover, many are preparing to play a leadership role in the development of bioethics in their country. They come to Georgetown as the premier institution in the world for the study of bioethics and to immerse themselves in the life of our Center. When they return to their own parts of the world, they have received the knowledge and practical experience to assist in their daily work in their own universities, centers, hospitals, and other heathcare institutions.

The Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University has come to be closely identified with its founder, Edmund D. Pellegrino, M.D., M.A.C.P. Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Medical Ethics. An outstanding international professional reputation and a personal commitment to the advancement of the human, theological, philosophical and ethical dimensions of medicine highlight Dr. Pellegrino's career. Dr. Pellegrino's personal and professional commitment to dialogue and exchange, while still strongly advocating the Roman Catholic tradition in medical ethics, has earned for himself and his colleagues at the Center, the respect of peers of a variety of religious and non-religious backgrounds.

A graduate of St. John's University and New York University, Dr. Pellegrino is the author of more than 500 published articles and chapters in medical science, philosophy and ethics. He served residencies in medicine at Bellevue, Goldwater Memorial and Homer Folks Tuberculosis Hospitals, following which he was a research fellow in renal physiology and medicine at New York University. He has been a department chairman and dean, as well as President of the Catholic University of America. Dr. Pellegrino is a master of the American College of Physicians, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the recipient of more than 40 honorary degrees. The author of 11 books, Dr. Pellegrino's research interests include the history and philosophy of medicine, professional ethics, the patient-physician relationship and biomedical ethics in a culturally pluralistic society.

The Center for Clinical Bioethics

Since its establishment in 1851, the School of Medicine at Georgetown has made significant contributions to the well being of individuals and society at large through its threefold mission of education, research and patient care. Over the last several decades, Georgetown University School of Medicine has sought to address increasingly complex ethical issues with the best possible resources, ensuring that its efforts would yield the greatest reward: a broad cultural appreciation and respect for human life - from conception to natural death. Responding to the critical need for an academically credible Roman Catholic presence in the intellectual and clinical discussions of bioethics, the Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University Medical Center was founded in 1991. Its mission is to address issues affecting the dignity and sanctity of human life, correcting poorly formed popular opinion and scrutinizing the moral impact of current trends in medical education and practice. The Center realizes its goals in three principal ways: teaching, research and consultation in clinical ethics.

  1. The Center for Clinical Bioethics promotes its educational goal of preparing tomorrow's leaders in the field of bioethics through regular and elective course offerings in healthcare ethics in Georgetown's Schools of Medicine and Nursing & Health Studies,and the Department of Philosophy. In addition, conferences and workshops are held throughout the year for students and in-house staff and faculty, as well as for medical professionals, ethicists and faculty from other institutions, clergy of Roman Catholic and other faiths and the general public.
  2. Accompanying the responsibilities of teaching, patient care and ethics consultation, each faculty member and scholar in the Center pursues individual research projects. Subjects under investigation range from empirical studies of death and dying in America, to managed care and health care reform, to the philosophy of medicine. These studies are regularly reported in books, articles in scholarly journals and in national and international conferences.
  3. Ethical questions often arise when a patient has lost the capacity to make decisions, when it is not clear whether the burdens of treatment are worth the expected benefits, or when values appear to conflict. The Center's Ethics Consult Service is an on-call, 24-hour advisory service designed to assist patients, families and health-care professionals in identifying, analyzing and resolving ethical conflicts. Staffed by Center faculty, the service allows for students and fellows to witness the guided integration of ethical theory with compassionate bedside care. The Center faculty are also available to scholars, practitioners and clergy in other institutions who are struggling with moral dilemmas.

Conclusion

The Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University stands at the heart of an increasingly complex medical and ethical dialogue over a variety of life and death issues. Credible in terms of its academic and clinical experience and its internationally respected faculty, Georgetown, like perhaps no other Catholic institution in the world, is prepared to explain and teach the Catholic medical moral tradition through its intellectual - and faith filled - dialogue with the world. For further information on making a gift to the Pellegrino Visiting Scholar Endowment please Carol Taylor, RN, PhD at (202) 687-4783.