2025 Healthcare Ethics and Moral Distress Consultation Intensive Training Seminar

Join us September 28 through September 30, 2025, in beautiful Charlottesville, Virginia for our 13th annual Healthcare Ethics and Moral Distress Consultation Intensive Training Seminar. Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the grounds and gardens of the University of Virginia are the perfect setting for an immersive weekend spent developing or deepening your consultation knowledge and skills.

This in-person, intensive 3-day training program is designed for multidisciplinary practicing healthcare professionals who wish to develop or deepen their healthcare ethics and moral distress consultation knowledge and skills and prepare for the healthcare ethics consultation certification exam. The training is grounded in the ASBH core competencies for healthcare ethics consultation and will emphasize the four content domains for certification determined by the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities. It is the only program in the United States to offer training in Moral Distress consultation, building on 18 years of experience at UVA Health. Participants will receive a certificate upon course completion. Registration form is at the bottom of this page. You can view the 2024 syllabus here

FORMAT: This interactive and multidisciplinary seminar combines didactic sessions with case discussions and hands-on exercises. The course culminates with attendance at UVA’s weekly Healthcare Ethics and Moral Distress Consult Services meeting.

SCHEDULE: The program begins at 9 am Sunday, September 28 and ends at 2 pm on Tuesday, September 30. Sunday and Monday are dedicated to healthcare ethics consultation. Tuesday focuses solely on moral distress consultation and can be attended independent of the rest of the program. The program will take place at the Center for Health Humanities and Ethics, UVA West Complex, Collins Building, Room 5382.

PREREQUISITES: Participants will be expected to obtain and read Core Competencies for Ethics Consultation prior to the training (available at www.asbh.org).

REGISTRATION: The cost is $1,800/person for the complete course (Sunday through Tuesday) or $500/person for the Moral Distress Consultation sessions only (Tuesday, September 30). Pre-registration is required. Questions: PLEASE CONTACT: Charlene Kaufman @ cmk2b@uvahealth.org

MEALS: Breakfast: Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday
Lunch: Sunday and Tuesday

LODGING: A block has been reserved at the Courtyard by Marriott (434-977-1700) next to the Medical Center.

THINGS TO DO IN AND AROUND CHARLOTTESVILLE: Charlottesville is vibrant small town with lots to do. It’s a foodie haven with museums, theaters, and an active music scene. Outdoor opportunities include exploring the Historic Downtown Mall (pedestrian-only with 120 shops and 30 restaurants), hiking the Blue Ridge Mountains, enjoying the fall foliage on the Skyline Drive, touring the University grounds and gardens (including Edgar Allan Poe’s room on the Range), visiting Monticello (and dining at nearby historic Michie Tavern), picnicking at Carter Mountain Orchard (apple cider donuts!), and sampling the goods at a plethora of local wineries, cideries, and distilleries.

COURSE FACULTY:
The training will be co-led by:

Mary Faith Marshall, PhD, FCCM, HEC-C: Course Co-Director; Kornfeld Professor of Bioethics
and Director, Center for Health Humanities and Ethics, School of Medicine and Professor, School of Nursing; member Ethics Consult and Moral Distress Consult Services; member Medical Center Ethics Committee

Dawn Bourne, DNP, FNP-C, HEC-C: Assistant Professor, School of Nursing; Director, Moral Distress Consult Service; member Ethics Consult Service

Julia Taylor, MD, MA, HEC-C: Associate Professor of Pediatrics; Core Faculty, Center for Health Humanities and Ethics; Director Ethics Consult Service; member Moral Distress Consult Service

Faculty:

Susan Aronhalt, MSW, LCSW: member, Ethics and Moral Distress Consult Services

Dawn Bourne, DNP, FNP-C, HEC-C: Assistant Professor, School of Nursing; Director, Moral Distress Consult Service; member Ethics Distress Consult Service

James F. Childress, PhD: Hollingsworth Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies; Core Faculty, Center for Health Humanities and Ethics; member, Medical Center Ethics Committee

Katerine Egressy, MD, MPH, FCCP: Assistant Professor of Medicine; member Ethics and Moral Distress Consult Services

Beth Epstein, PhD, RN, HEC-C, FAAN: Professor School of Nursing; Core Faculty, Center for Health Humanities and Ethics, and leads the Moral Distress Consultation Collaborative

Dea Mahanes, DNP, RN, CCNS, CNRN, CCRN, FNCS, HEC-C: Clinical Nurse Specialist, Neurancy Neuroscience Intensive and Intermediate Care Units; member Ethics and Moral Distress Consult Services; member, Medical Center Ethics Committee; Chair, Medical Center Organ Transplant Committee

Mary Faith Marshall, PhD, FCCM, HEC-C: Director, Center for Health Humanities and Ethics; member Ethics and Moral Distress Consult Services; member, Medical Center Ethics Committee

Peter Murray, MD, MSM, HEC-C: Associate Professor of Pediatrics; Chairperson, Medical Center Ethics Committee; member Ethics and Moral Distress Consult Services

Julia Taylor, MD, MA (Bioethics), HEC-C: Associate Professor of Pediatrics; Core Faculty, Center for Health Humanities and Ethics; Director, Ethics Consult Service, member Medical Center Ethics Committee

Nicholas Yates, MD, MA (Bioethics), Pediatrician, community member Ethics and Moral Distress Consult Services; member, Patient Care Consulting Subcommittee