Tag: Christian J. Vercler

Would you ever consent to have your medical procedure broadcast on social media?

No Easy Answers in Bioethics logoEpisode 10 of No Easy Answers in Bioethics is now available! This episode features Dr. Devan Stahl, Assistant Professor in the Center for Ethics and the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, and Dr. Christian Vercler, Clinical Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery in the Department of Surgery at the University of Michigan and Co-Chief of the Clinical Ethics Service in the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine. Drs. Stahl and Vercler address a trend known as Snapchat surgeons – plastic surgeons who amass sometimes millions of followers on the social media platform Snapchat by posting uncensored videos of operations they are performing. Together they offer their insight and expertise on the issue, and discuss whether these Snapchat performances are ethical. They also delve into the societal norms and power dynamics at play, and address how to move forward within the profession of plastic surgery in a world where social media seems to be here to stay.

Ways to Listen

This episode was produced and edited by Liz McDaniel in the Center for Ethics. Music: “While We Walk (2004)” by Antony Raijekov via Free Music Archive, licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Full episode transcript available.

About: No Easy Answers in Bioethics is a podcast series from the Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences in the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. Each month Center for Ethics faculty and their collaborators discuss their ongoing work and research across many areas of bioethics—clinical ethics, evidence-based medicine, health policy, medical education, neuroethics, shared decision-making, and more. Episodes are hosted by H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online.

Article from Dr. Stahl in April ‘AMA Journal of Ethics’

Devan Stahl photoCenter Assistant Professor Dr. Devan Stahl and co-author Christian J. Vercler (University of Michigan) have an article in the April 2018 issue of the AMA Journal of Ethics. Their article, “What Should Be the Surgeon’s Role in Defining “Normal” Genital Appearance?,” appears in the journal’s issue on ethical considerations in plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Abstract: The recent rise in women seeking cosmetic surgery of their genitalia (labiaplasty) coincides with the increasing number of surgeons posting videos of these operations on social media accounts and websites. Sociocultural influences significantly contribute to our ideas of what constitutes healthy and pathologic, and surgeons have historically played a role in defining “normal” and “abnormal” anatomy. In the nineteenth century, Saartjie Baartman—a woman with a large posterior and unusually long labia minora—was used by physicians to “educate” the public about these differences. We examine the parallels with the twenty-first century practice of surgeons using social media to educate patients about the operations they perform and discuss ethical and professional hazards associated with this practice.

The full article text is available online via the American Medical Association.

Watch every lecture from the 2013-2014 Bioethics Brownbag & Webinar Series

Largent-slideReye’s Syndrome: A Medical Mystery and a Modern Dilemma
This talk from Mark A. Largent, PhD, examines the history of Reye’s syndrome, the hunt to uncover its cause, and the debates that have emerged over last twenty years about the role of aspirin in Reye’s syndrome. View Webinar

Bosk-slideMedical Sociology as Vocation
This presentation from Charles L. Bosk, PhD, discusses what it means to speak of ‘medical sociology as a vocation,’ using Weber’s classic essay ‘Science as a Vocation’ as its departure point. View Webinar

 

Fisch-slideThe Declining Provider: Refusal, Responsibility, and Reasonableness
This presentation from Deborah Fisch, JD, examines how we arrived at our current VBAC position, its implications for maternal and child health, and the connection to other instances of declining providers. View Webinar

Loup-slideAre Researchers Ever Obligated to Provide Individual Research Findings to Non-participant Third Parties?
This presentation from Allan Loup, JD, addresses an emerging consensus that, in some circumstances, researchers have obligations to return individual research results to research participants. View Webinar

Normandin-slide

“Enlightened” Breath: Breathing and Biomedicine
While much is known of the physiological importance of breathing in biomedicine, there is almost no appreciation of its possible therapeutic role. This presentation from Sebastian Normandin, PhD, argues for a new era – an age of enlightenment – in the use of breath and breathing as a healing tool. View Webinar

Vercler-slidePlastic Surgery Ethics: An Oxymoron?
In this lecture, Dr. Christian J. Vercler examines the distinctions made between cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, discusses how plastic surgeons think about those distinctions, and uncovers the different ethical frameworks that support these practices. View Webinar

 

Click here to watch more lectures dating back to 2010, and save the date for the first webinar of the 2014-2015 Series: September 17, 2014.

Learn the reality of ethics in plastic surgery — it’s not what you see on TV

bbag-iconPlastic Surgery Ethics: An Oxymoron?

Event flyer: Vercler Flyer

Most plastic surgeons portrayed in the media exhibit questionable moral judgment. After watching shows such as Nip/Tuck, Extreme Makeover, Dr. 90210, and The Swan, one could easily conclude that ethics plays no part in the practice of plastic surgery. Indeed, some have charged cosmetic surgery with being entirely outside the scope of medical practice. Dr. Vercler will examine the distinctions made between cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, discuss how plastic surgeons think about those distinctions, and uncover the different ethical frameworks that support these practices.

apr-23-bbagJoin us for Christian J. Vercler’s lecture on Wednesday, April 23, 2014 from noon till 1 pm in person or online:

In person: The lecture will take place in C102 East Fee Hall on MSU’s East Lansing campus. Feel free to bring your lunch! Beverages and light snacks will be provided.

Online: Here are some instructions for your first time joining the webinar, or if you have attended or viewed them before, go to the meeting!

Can’t make it? View this webinar and others as archived recordings.

Christian J. Vercler, MD, is Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of Craniofacial Surgery in the Section of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Michigan. He serves on the faculty of the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences at the University of Michigan. He completed a Fellowship in Clinical Ethics at the Emory University Center for Ethics and also has an MA in Bioethics. He has served on ethics committees since 1998, and has taught medical ethics to residents and medical students at Emory University, Harvard, and the University of Michigan. Dr. Vercler graduated from Wheaton College with a BS in Biology and an MA in Theological Studies. He went to medical school at the University of Illinois. He completed general surgery training at Emory University and plastic surgery at Harvard. He then did an additional fellowship in Craniofacial Surgery at the University of Michigan.