Christine I. Mitchell (born December 8, 1951) is an American filmmaker[4][5][6] and bioethicist and until her retirement in September 2022, the executive director of the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School (HMS).[7][8]

Christine I. Mitchell
Mitchell in HMS office (2017)
Born (1951-12-08) December 8, 1951 (age 72)
EducationBoston University: MSN, MS Harvard Divinity School: MTS
Alma materBoston University, MSN, MS; Harvard University, MTS
Occupation(s)Educational filmmaker and bioethicist
Years active1979 to present
EmployerHarvard Medical School
Organization(s)Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston University
Notable work"Code Gray: Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing"
MovementU
SpouseMarried to Gordon Jack Schultz
ChildrenThree sons
Awards1984 Academy Award nomination, short documentary Code Gray: Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing[1][2][3]<
WebsiteHMS Center for Bioethics profile page for Christine Mitchell

Education

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Mitchell studied nursing at Boston University, where she earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in the field. She then studied philosophical and religious ethics and the ethics of care at Harvard University and the Harvard Divinity School, where she earned a master's degree.

Ethics Fellowships:

Academic Appointments

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Career

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She is known for her role in shaping the field in clinical ethics consultations for morally difficult issues in hospital settings. She is a founding member of the American Society for Bioethics Consultation, on which she currently serves,[13][14] and American Society for Bioethics and Humanities's Clinical Ethics Consultation Affairs standing committee,[15] and most recently, the Ethics Advisory Board of the Human Brain Project's Ethics and Society Subproject,[16][17] funded by the European Commission. She is a former president of the American Society for Law, Medicine, and Ethics, where she serves on the editorial board of its journal,[18][19][20] and the Freedom from Cancer Challenge, where she is a project Advisor.[21]

Mitchell developed an interest in nursing ethics during her years at Boston University, which led her to pursue a Master of Theological Studies degree emphasizing ethics at Harvard University and the Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge. Between those two programs, however, she practiced clinical nursing for several years in Boston and Charlottesville, Virginia, where she became Assistant Professor of Nursing at University of Virginia School of Nursing.

Prior to her role with Harvard's Center for Bioethics, formerly the Division of Medical Ethics (DME) (where she had been associate director before its reorganization),[22][23][24] she taught ethics and professional courses for medical students and in the Master of Bioethics Degree Program while on the faculty of the HMS Department of Global Health and Social Medicine.[25]

Her research focuses on clinical ethics consultation and public engagement in bioethics policies, including end-of-life issues, assisted reproductive technologies,[26] and resource allocation related to major natural disasters or pandemics. Mitchell also leads the Ethics Leadership Group for Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals and health care facilities.[27] She has contributed to the development of nursing ethics as a discipline.

Center for Bioethics

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Mitchell has been involved in ethics work at Boston Children's Hospital,[28] where she founded the hospital's ethics program, directed the hospital's ethics consultation service, and led its Ethics Advisory Committee for thirty years.[29][30] She has provided ethics consultation at Massachusetts General Hospital, Baystate Medical Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Salem Hospital in Salem, Massachusetts, and Maine Medical Center.

In the Center for Bioethics, Mitchell co-founded with Carol Powers, JD, the volunteer citizen Community Ethics Committee for "informed public input on ethical aspects of health care and health policies."[31][32][33] She also developed the annual Harvard Clinical Bioethics Course,[34] leads monthly clinical ethics and Harvard Research Ethics Consortia,[35] and teaches in the HMS Fellowship in Bioethics Program.[36]

Professional activities

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Since 2002, Mitchell has edited ethics cases for The Journal of Clinical Ethics,[37] where she has been on the editorial board since 1989 and is currently its associate editor. She lectures outside Harvard on clinical ethics issues[38] In 2009, the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities formed the Clinical Ethics Consultation Affairs standing committee[39] (CECA) in order to address growing concerns that those providing clinical ethics consultation (CEC) were unqualified.

She is a clinical practice team member of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics,[40] which produced A Blueprint for 21st Century Nursing Ethics: Report of the National Nursing Summit.[41] She is a member of the advisory committee[42] for the Cambridge Consortium for Bioethics Education,[43] which produces and publishes Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics.[44] She also is an advisory board member[45] of the Neuroethics Network (Paris).[46][47]

In 2018, she was elected vice president of the Association of Bioethics Program Directors,[48][49]

Films and media

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Mitchell's first ethics media was an instructional interactive computer videodisc in 1990, Nursing Ethics and Law, which she produced with two collaborators.

With filmmaker Ben Achtenberg[50] (with whom she has worked for over 26 years, and sometimes with others) she has produced six documentary videos. She was an associate producer of "Code Gray: Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing", a documentary film,[51] which was nominated for (but not awarded) an Academy Award in 1984;[52][53] their 2002 video, Stanley, about ethical decisions in caring for a patient with end stage kidney failure, was part of a 3-film documentary series [54] and awarded a 2004 Freddie award for medical media.[55] Their 2003 video, Everyday Choices, concerned a visiting nurse and an elderly patient facing ethical questions about waning capacities and independence.[56]

She is an advisor to The Refugee Media Project,[57] sponsored by The Center for Independent Documentary,[58] also of Boston.

Awards

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  • 1983, MNA Nursing Practice Award, Massachusetts Nursing Association (MNA)[59]
  • 1984 Academy Award nomination, short documentary Code Gray: Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing[60][61][62]
  • 1985, MNA Image of the Professional Nurse Award - Christine I. Mitchell, Massachusetts Nursing Association (MNA)[63]
  • 2004, International Freddie Award for medical media
  • 2010, Living Legends in Massachusetts Nursing Award,[64][65] American Nurses Association Massachusetts[66][67][68]
  • 2018, Nursing Ethics Leadership Award, National Nursing Ethics Conference[69]
  • 2018, President-Elect,[70] Association of Bioethics Program Directors[71]

Publications

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Christine Mitchell has published on the ethics of medical practice, end-of-life care, pediatrics, fetal medicine,[72] gender,[73] oncology, reality medical television,[74] religion,[75][76][77] surgery,[78] and current topics in bioethics.[79][80][81] Her interests recently have expanded to the universal human right to benefit from the progress of science.

Selected bibliography

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  • Porsdam Mann, S.; Donders, Y.; Mitchell, C.; Bradley, V. J.; Chou, M. F.; Mann, M.; Church, G.; Porsdam, H. (2018). "Opinion: Advocating for science progress as a human right". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115 (43): 10820–10823. doi:10.1073/pnas.1816320115. PMC 6205482. PMID 30352870.
  • American Society for Bioethics Humanities Clinical Ethics Consultation Affairs Standing Committee; Carrese, J. A.; Antommaria, A. H.; Berkowitz, K. A.; Berger, J.; Carrese, J.; Childs, B. H.; Derse, A. R.; Gallagher, C.; Gallagher, J. A.; Goodman-Crews, P.; Heesters, A.; Jurchak, M.; Mitchell, C.; Mokwyune, N.; Parsi, K.; Powell, T.; Powderly, K. E.; Rosell, T.; Shelton, W.; Smith, M. L.; Spike, J.; Tarzian, A.; Wocial, L. (2012). "HCEC pearls and pitfalls: Suggested do's and don't's for healthcare ethics consultants". The Journal of Clinical Ethics. 23 (3): 234–40. doi:10.1086/JCE201223307. PMID 23256404. S2CID 1848824.
  • Truog, Robert D.; Mitchell, Christine (2006). "Futility—From Hospital Policies to State Laws". The American Journal of Bioethics. 6 (5): 19–21. doi:10.1080/15265160600858989. PMID 16997814. S2CID 28379888.
  • Mitchell, C.; Truog, R. (2006). "When a village is not enough". The Journal of Clinical Ethics. 17 (1): 79. doi:10.1086/JCE200617110. PMID 16689117. S2CID 42777112.
  • Mitchell, C. (2006). "A mother's death: The story of "Margaret's" children". The Journal of Clinical Ethics. 17 (4): 331–2. doi:10.1086/JCE200617407. PMID 17330724. S2CID 42754949.
  • Mitchell, C.; Truog, R. D.; Ethics Advisory Committee at Children's Hospital Boston (2004). "Excerpts from the ethics consult report: MT". The Journal of Clinical Ethics. 15 (3): 302–6. doi:10.1086/JCE200415313. PMID 15630874. S2CID 44508413.
  • Mitchell, C.; Truog, R. D. (2003). "A bridge to nowhere". The Journal of Clinical Ethics. 14 (3): 189. doi:10.1086/JCE200314306. PMID 14740354.
  • Mitchell, C.; Truog, R. (2002). "Irene's story". The Journal of Clinical Ethics. 13 (3): 230–1. doi:10.1086/JCE200213305. PMID 12624890. S2CID 40214881.
  • Mitchell, C.; Truog, R. (2002). "Case reports from the Harvard Ethics Consortium". The Journal of Clinical Ethics. 13 (1): 49–53. doi:10.1086/JCE200213105. PMID 12235682. S2CID 31242138.
  • American Society for Bioethics Humanities Clinical Ethics Consultation Affairs Standing Committee; Carrese, J. A.; Antommaria, A. H.; Berkowitz, K. A.; Berger, J.; Carrese, J.; Childs, B. H.; Derse, A. R.; Gallagher, C.; Gallagher, J. A.; Goodman-Crews, P.; Heesters, A.; Jurchak, M.; Mitchell, C.; Mokwyune, N.; Parsi, K.; Powell, T.; Powderly, K. E.; Rosell, T.; Shelton, W.; Smith, M. L.; Spike, J.; Tarzian, A.; Wocial, L. (2012). "HCEC pearls and pitfalls: Suggested do's and don't's for healthcare ethics consultants". The Journal of Clinical Ethics. 23 (3): 234–40. doi:10.1086/JCE201223307. PMID 23256404. S2CID 1848824.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Code Gray: Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing on IMDb
  2. ^ Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)
  3. ^ WorldCat entry on Code gray: ethical dilemmas in nursing references Boston-based Fanlight Productions,[2004] and film co-producers Ben Achtenberg, Joan Sawyer, and Christine Mitchell
  4. ^ Code Gray: Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing on IMDb
  5. ^ Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)
  6. ^ WorldCat entry on Code gray: ethical dilemmas in nursing references Boston-based Fanlight Productions,[2004] and film co-producers Ben Achtenberg, Joan Sawyer, and Christine Mitchell
  7. ^ Diane Alame, Establishing the Online Harvard Medical School Bioethics Journal, a Master's degree capstone project in the Center, supervised by Christine Mitchell, 2017, accessed October 25, 2018
  8. ^ Miller J. Ethics Evolution: Division of Medical Ethics becomes Center for Bioethics. Harvard Medical School website. May 1, 2014. News & Research
  9. ^ Boston University to close nursing school. UPI Archives, JUNE 19, 1987. BU School of Nursing was closed by Dr. John Silber in 1988, while he was President of Boston University
  10. ^ Safra Center profile for Christine Mitchell gives the dates of her fellowship
  11. ^ Hermann H, Trachsel M, Mitchell M, Biller-Andorno N. Medical decision-making capacity: knowledge, attitudes, and assessment practices of physicians in Switzerland. Swiss Medical Weekly, November 2014 DOI: 10.4414/smw.2014.14039
  12. ^ Cromer JM. The integral role of ethics in patient well-being at Children's Hospital Boston. Boston.com. November 13, 2007
  13. ^ Nano Startup Challenge in Cancer, accessed October 25, 2018
  14. ^ membership on the ASBH Clinical Ethics Consultation Affairs committee of the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities, as of 2010
  15. ^ Clinical Ethics Consultation Affairs (CECA) Committee (membership), C/A/C Report, October, 2010, Page 7 of 28. Appendix AList of CECA Committee Members
  16. ^ "Human Brain Project, Ethics and Society webpage". 12 March 2021.
  17. ^ "Christine Mitchell is a member of The Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects Committee (ELSA) of the Human Brain Project panel, page 51, right hand side, WP12.5 Governance and regulation". Archived from the original on 2019-02-02. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
  18. ^ Podolsky, Scott H.; Bud, Robert; Gradmann, Christoph; Hobaek, Bård; Kirchhelle, Claas; Mitvedt, Tore; Santesmases, María Jesús; Thoms, Ulrike; Berild, Dag; Lie, Anne Kveim (2015). "History Teaches Us That Confronting Antibiotic Resistance Requires Stronger Global Collective Action". The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics. 43 (3_suppl): 27–32. doi:10.1111/jlme.12271. PMID 26243240. S2CID 19928428.
  19. ^ Volume 44:1, Spring 2016, page 3 showing Editorial Board
  20. ^ Volume 36:1, Spring 2008, page 3 showing Editorial Board
  21. ^ Freedom from Cancer Challenge list of Challenge Mavens
  22. ^ to cite her role as associate director of clinical ethics: Cromer JM. The integral role of ethics in patient well-being at Children's Hospital Boston. Boston.com. November 13, 2007
  23. ^ "Signatories, San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment: Putting science into the assessment of research. Accessed October 25, 2018". Archived from the original on January 2, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  24. ^ Miller J. Ethics Evolution: Division of Medical Ethics becomes Center for Bioethics. Harvard Medical School website. May 1, 2014. News & Research
  25. ^ "HMS Global Health and Social Medicine Department Website".
  26. ^ "Harvard Medicine magazine, Autumn 2016".
  27. ^ "Christine Mitchell profile page on HMS Center for Bioethics". January 2015. Retrieved 2018-09-14.
  28. ^ Swidly N, and Wen P. Frustration on all fronts in struggle over child's futureCourt works to untangle battle of parents, doctors, and the state. Boston Globe. 12/16/13 (Second of Two Parts). Accessed 12/31/2018.
  29. ^ "Boston.com, On Call: An Online Magazine for Healthcare Professionals archive, Nov. 13, 2017 issue".
  30. ^ "Boston Children's Hospital Office of Ethics Website". Archived from the original on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  31. ^ "Community Voices in Medical Ethics and Community Ethics Committee Website".
  32. ^ Cognitive Impairment and Transplantation Policy, ASN Kidney News Online, accessed October 25, 2018
  33. ^ Nano Startup Challenge in Cancer, accessed October 25, 2018
  34. ^ "Ethics Education: Harvard Clinical Bioethics Course, Pediatric Ethiscop: The Journal of Pediatric Bioethics, October 17, 2017".
  35. ^ public posting about a Research Ethics Committee meeting on research consent issues
  36. ^ "HMS Fellowship in Bioethics Webpage".
  37. ^ "Journal of Clinical Ethics website, accessed Sept. 17, 2018".
  38. ^ Ethics of Caring, 5th National Nursing Ethics Conference, NNEC 25th Anniversary Reimagining Nursing from the Inside Out" An Invitation to Reflect, Celebrate, Re-Imagine, and Transform, accessed October 25, 2018
  39. ^ Clinical Ethics Consultation Affairs (CECA) Committee (membership), C/A/C Report, October, 2010, Page 7 of 28. Appendix AList of CECA Committee Members
  40. ^ Clinical Practice Team of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics
  41. ^ A BLUEPRINT FOR 21ST CENTURY NURSING ETHICS: Report of the National Nursing Summit
  42. ^ list of Advisory Committee for ICM (Institute of Brain and Spinal Cord)
  43. ^ Cambridge Consortium for Bioethics Education
  44. ^ Editorial Board. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, Cambridge University Press, masthead, page 2, Volume 25, 2016. Accessed December 19, 2018
  45. ^ Experts Call for Ethics Rules to Protect Privacy and Free Will As Brain Implants Advance. Neuroscience News, November 13, 2017.
  46. ^ Home page for the Neuroethics Network (Paris), of which the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics is a member
  47. ^ Yuste, Rafael; Goering, Sara; Arcas, Blaise Agüera y; Bi, Guoqiang; Carmena, Jose M.; Carter, Adrian; Fins, Joseph J.; Friesen, Phoebe; Gallant, Jack (2017). "Four ethical priorities for neurotechnologies and AI". Nature. 551 (7679): 159–163. Bibcode:2017Natur.551..159Y. doi:10.1038/551159a. PMC 8021272. PMID 29120438.
  48. ^ homepage of Association of Bioethics Program Directors (ABPD)
  49. ^ Association of Bioethics Program Directors (ABPD) list of Directors
  50. ^ Fanlight Productions founder Profile of filmmaker Ben Achtenberg lists Academy Award Nomination among its awards
  51. ^ "Code Grey: Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing, IMDb website". IMDb.
  52. ^ Code Gray: Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing on IMDb
  53. ^ Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)
  54. ^ Icarus Films: Films from independent producers worldwide page highlighting The Fanlight Collection 'Caring at the End of Life' Series (3 films) directed by Ben Achtenberg and Christine Mitchell
  55. ^ "Meet the Ethics Associates. Children's Hospital Boston page of profiles". Archived from the original on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  56. ^ Fanlight Productions page for Everyday Choices produced by Ben Achtenberg & Christine Mitchell, RN, FAAN
  57. ^ "List of Advisors of The Refugee Media Project, based in [[Jamaica Plain]] (Boston), Massachusetts". Archived from the original on 2018-09-03. Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  58. ^ The Center for Independent Documentary
  59. ^ Past Recipients of MNA Award, Accessed October 25, 2018
  60. ^ Code Gray: Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing on IMDb
  61. ^ Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)
  62. ^ WorldCat entry on Code gray: ethical dilemmas in nursing references Boston-based Fanlight Productions,[2004] and film co-producers Ben Achtenberg, Joan Sawyer, and Christine Mitchell
  63. ^ Past Recipients of MNA Award, Accessed October 25, 2018
  64. ^ New England Notable Nurses, Nurse.com, May 3rd, 2010
  65. ^ "ANA Massachusetts Living Legends in Massachusetts Nursing Award Recipient History" (PDF).
  66. ^ American Nurses Association Massachusetts, accessed October 25, 2018
  67. ^ Description of the ANA Massachusetts Living Legends in Massachusetts Nursing Award, accessed October 25, 2018 - No awardees were listed on this descriptive page
  68. ^ LaSala C. Massachusetts Report on Nursing, June 2010, page 4, accessed October 25, 2018
  69. ^ Page 9, Day 2, March 8, 2018, 4:45-5:30 PM Nat'l Nursing Ethics Conference, where Christine Mitchell received a Nursing Ethics Leadership Award (along with one other nurse-ethicist)
  70. ^ Current Officers of the ABPD, with bio of Christine Mitchell
  71. ^ Homepage of Association of Bioethics Program Directors (ABPD)
  72. ^ "Diamond DA, Ecker J, Holm I, Kornetsky S, Mitchell C, and Spack N. Non Fetal Cosmetology. Hastings Bioethics Forum Blog. Published online in: Health and Health Care. March 8, 2010". Archived from the original on February 2, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  73. ^ "Not Inconceivable. Harvard Medicine Magazine. Issue: Ethics, Autumn 2016. Topics: ethics; women's health". Archived from the original on 2017-05-29. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  74. ^ Krakower, T. M.; Montello, M.; Mitchell, C.; Truog, R. D. (2013). "The ethics of reality medical television". The Journal of Clinical Ethics. 24 (1): 50–7. doi:10.1086/JCE201324106. PMID 23631335. S2CID 10235975.
  75. ^ Dewar, R.; Cahners, N.; Mitchell, C.; Forrow, L. (2015). "Hinduism and death with dignity: Historic and contemporary case examples". The Journal of Clinical Ethics. 26 (1): 40–7. doi:10.1086/JCE2015261040. PMID 25794293. S2CID 19937675.
  76. ^ Balboni, Michael J.; Sullivan, Adam; Enzinger, Andrea C.; Epstein-Peterson, Zachary D.; Tseng, Yolanda D.; Mitchell, Christine; Niska, Joshua; Zollfrank, Angelika; Vanderweele, Tyler J.; Balboni, Tracy A. (2014). "Nurse and Physician Barriers to Spiritual Care Provision at the End of Life". Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 48 (3): 400–410. doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2013.09.020. PMC 4569089. PMID 24480531.
  77. ^ Mitchell, C. (2015). "The Value of Virginity". The Journal of Clinical Ethics. 26 (2): 152. doi:10.1086/JCE2015262152. PMID 26132062. S2CID 36075213.
  78. ^ Mitchell, C. (2014). "Medical missions to Ghana: The ethics of choosing children for cardiac surgery". The Journal of Clinical Ethics. 25 (4): 307. doi:10.1086/JCE201425406. PMID 25517567. S2CID 33543639.
  79. ^ "Research Gate, Christine Mitchell author page. Access Sept. 17, 2018".
  80. ^ Harvard Catalyst profile for Christine Mitchell
  81. ^ Sun, LH. 150 experts say Olympics must be moved or postponed because of Zika. Washington Post. Health: May 27, 2016. Signatory #91 of 150 experts urging WHO to urge Olympics officials to relocate Rio de Janeiro Olympics because of local zika threats.
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