At SPS, Jane...
- Explored the ethical dimension of her specialty
- Learned how to advise patients on clinical testing
- Discovered the intersection of law, culture and medicine
- Equipped herself to advise medical students on ethics
- Got the knowledge she needed for her seat on the American College of Rheumatology Ethics and Conflict of Interest Committee
You were already a practicing physician and a Professor of Medicine at Columbia. What motivated you to take the SPS Program?
I started the Bioethics graduate program when I was already a faculty member. I believe it helps you organize your thoughts within a bioethical framework, so that you have a systematic, focused and informed way of approaching ethical issues in clinical care and research.
What drew you to rheumatology in particular?
Rheumatologic diseases are not always easily classified into specific diagnoses, but often have overlaps or gray areas. These intricacies push me to think outside of the box, which I find both exciting and rewarding.
What are some of the ethical issues when it comes to your specialty?
Ethics is inherent to medicine. This may entail discussing the risks and benefits of a new medication that is recommended; in rheumatology, this could involve immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory therapy. You have to decide how much information is enough to enable a patient to make a decision. If a drug is not FDA approved, and that is not uncommon given that some of our diseases are more rare and difficult to study in large clinical trials, that patient may not be able to receive it because it’s not covered by their insurance.
How did apply what you learned?
In 2013, I was elected to serve on the American College of Rheumatology Ethics and Conflict of Interest Committee, and continue to do so. My bioethics education has been enormously helpful with regards to the work I do with the American College of Rheumatology. I give research ethics lectures for rheumatology fellows and medical students routinely. I want our young physicians to understand how to use a bioethical framework when they face ethical issues.
