- Joined
- Nov 9, 2014
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Okay SDNers, I'm hoping that you can share any experiences you might have with the US Conference of Catholic Bishop's Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services.
I'm finishing up a Peds EM fellowship and accepted a faculty position at a non-Catholic academic institution. Peds EM docs work primarily at the children's hospital but also staff 2 satellite EDs. One is a satellite location of the children's hospital, the other is a community hospital that was just acquired by Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI).
As a consequence of the acquisition, CHI is requiring all physicians to be re-credentialed. The only difference between the old credentialing packet and the new is a logo and the inclusion of an "Acknowledgment and Certification" form to sign stating that we adhere to CHI's Our Values and Ethics at Work Reference Guide. The form also states that I will report violations and participate in investigations of violations. The actual Reference Guide wasn't included but I requested and obtained a copy of it. Within the Reference Guide, the only religious language is on a single page and vague. However, it does state on that page that the US Conference of Catholic Bishop's Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services must be adhered to.
I downloaded a copy of that document from the internet* and I really don't agree with many of the directives in that document. Most of what I don't agree with doesn't directly impact my provision of medical care as a PEM doc, but I feel does violate the rights of women and my ability to provide medical care in the best interests of patients. Specifically relevant to my practice, the directives would prohibit counseling about condoms or other contraception that I routinely do for adolescent patients as part of STI prevention, as well as referrals for patients interested in contraception. It would also prohibit adherence to advance directive requests for terminally ill children. I made a brief inquiry with my future boss who essentially e-mailed me back to just sign it.
I really don't feel good about signing this document. I feel even worse about the possibility of signing the document and then having my privileges revoked later for violating it. Thoughts? Experiences? Any advice would be appreciated.
*it's available at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-act...c-Health-Care-Services-fifth-edition-2009.pdf
I'm finishing up a Peds EM fellowship and accepted a faculty position at a non-Catholic academic institution. Peds EM docs work primarily at the children's hospital but also staff 2 satellite EDs. One is a satellite location of the children's hospital, the other is a community hospital that was just acquired by Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI).
As a consequence of the acquisition, CHI is requiring all physicians to be re-credentialed. The only difference between the old credentialing packet and the new is a logo and the inclusion of an "Acknowledgment and Certification" form to sign stating that we adhere to CHI's Our Values and Ethics at Work Reference Guide. The form also states that I will report violations and participate in investigations of violations. The actual Reference Guide wasn't included but I requested and obtained a copy of it. Within the Reference Guide, the only religious language is on a single page and vague. However, it does state on that page that the US Conference of Catholic Bishop's Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services must be adhered to.
I downloaded a copy of that document from the internet* and I really don't agree with many of the directives in that document. Most of what I don't agree with doesn't directly impact my provision of medical care as a PEM doc, but I feel does violate the rights of women and my ability to provide medical care in the best interests of patients. Specifically relevant to my practice, the directives would prohibit counseling about condoms or other contraception that I routinely do for adolescent patients as part of STI prevention, as well as referrals for patients interested in contraception. It would also prohibit adherence to advance directive requests for terminally ill children. I made a brief inquiry with my future boss who essentially e-mailed me back to just sign it.
I really don't feel good about signing this document. I feel even worse about the possibility of signing the document and then having my privileges revoked later for violating it. Thoughts? Experiences? Any advice would be appreciated.
*it's available at http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-act...c-Health-Care-Services-fifth-edition-2009.pdf