Physicians Give Thumbs Up: Medicine & Morals Course

Over 150 students are expected to sign up for the six week course that Chabad across the state will present commencing the week of October 24.

The six-session course Medicine and Morals: Your Jewish Guide Through Life’s Tough Decisions will include six lessons:

1. Choosing Life: The Obligation to Seek Healing
2. Flesh of My Flesh: Organ Transplants in Jewish Law
3. Rolling the Dice: Risky and Experimental Treatments
4. New Beginnings: The Ethics of Reproductive Technologies
5. With You In Mind: Ethical Treatment of the Mentally Disabled
6. Secret Code: Genetics and the Ethics of Patient Confidentiality.

The course will be offered in Lone Tree, Denver, Westminster, Boulder, Longmont, Vail and Aspen.

As medicine advances and life expectancy increases, almost all of us will encounter an ethical dilemma in dealing with our own health or that of a loved one,” said Rabbi Brackman of Chabad of NW Metro Denver and one of the course instructors. “But Jewish law creatively draws analogies with ancient paradigms to provide guidance through the maze of medical decision-making.”

The course will examine contemporary case studies and compare secular and Jewish approaches as a means of developing understanding, he added.

Local doctors are pleased that the course is being offered, Dr. Ellice Goldberg of Denver and Physician at Family Health Care Center in Arvada says, “At some time in our lives we will be faced with tough issues on medical care. This course is great to help understand the issues.  There are many choices and it helps to know the Jewish perspective when making decisions. ”

Dr. Lawrence Janowski, MD of Medical Director of Sonata Laser Aesthetics and Center For Lipoplasty in NW Metro Denver adds, “The complexities of modern medical care demand a close look at a number of ethical issues.  As a practicing physician, I am pleased to see JLI offer people an opportunity to gain insight into the Jewish perspective on medical ethics.”

Like all JLI programs, Medicine and Morals: Your Jewish Guide Through Life’s Tough Decisions is designed to appeal to people at all levels of Jewish knowledge, including  those without any prior experience or background in Jewish learning. All JLI courses are open to the public, and attendees need not be affiliated with a particular synagogue, temple, or other house of worship.

Interested students may visit www.myJLI.com for registration and other course-related information. The course will be available for CME and CLE credit (students who are pursuing continuing education credit may have to fulfill additional requirements).