Bioethics and Medical Ethics Commons^™

Involuntary Medication Administration Review: A Historical Look At New Jersey Psychiatric Law And Its Significance, Casey Burke, Joon Min Chun D.O., Ramya Kommidi D.O., Salvatore Montana Messina D.O.

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

The legal and ethical evolution of involuntary psychiatric medication in New Jersey has been shaped through the landmark legal cases Rennie v. Klein and Brandt v. Monte. To this effect, this poster explores how each case shaped state hospital policy and the balance between patient autonomy and clinical judgment. Rennie v. Klein (1978) established a constitutional right for involuntarily committed patients to refuse psychotropic medication, except in emergencies or with due process safeguards. Decades later, Brandt v. Monte (2006) exposed flaws in New Jersey’s administrative procedures—particularly Administrative Bulletin 78-3—which permitted coercive practices under the guise of emergency treatment and lacked …

“This Wasn’T You”: Mania, Agency, And Moral Responsibility In Psychiatric Practice​, Phillip Mastoridis, Justin Scarano, Timothy Wong

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

A manic episode is a state of abnormally elevated or irritable mood with increased energy, impaired judgment, and risky or uncharacteristic behavior. This poster examines a case in which a woman, during a manic episode, placed doxylamine succinate, an over‑the‑counter sedating antihistamine, into her husband’s drink. After stabilization, she expressed shame and confusion about the act. In the clinical encounter, the treating psychiatrist responded, “It wasn’t you,” intending to reduce self‑blame and facilitate engagement in treatment. This reassurance was therapeutically effective but raises a deeper philosophical question: in what sense, if any, is it true?

Informed Consent For Porcine Islet Xenotransplantation To Treat Type 1 Diabetes: A Scoping Review, Jennifer Kovalcik, Sheetal Mohanty, Mairead Clare Higgins, Daniel J. Hurst

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Purpose: The objective of this review is to systematically map and synthesize the existing literature regarding informed consent for porcine islet xenotransplantation for the treatment of Type 1 Diabetes.

Methods: The search was conducted in May 2025 through the following databases: PubMed, SCOPUS, EMBASE, and CINAHL. Broad search strings were used to combine the text words “islet” AND “xenotransplantation” AND “consent” or similar permutations and combinations. Peer-reviewed articles were included if they were published between January 1990 and May 2025 and written in English. The final search results were manually exported to a reference manager system (Zotero), and the PRISMA-ScR …

Anticipating Animal Ethics Concerns In Islet Xenotransplantation, Sheetal Mohanty, Daniel J. Hurst, Amy Glasofer

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) necessitates life-sustaining insulin therapy or, in select cases, islet allotransplantation, which is limited by donor scarcity. Islet xenotransplantation (XTx; genetically modified pig-to-human transplant) is one potential alternative. Patient perceptions about islet XTx are largely unexplored. This study examined patient support for XTx when T1D patients learned that 25-50 pigs may be needed to treat one adult. Patient viewpoints toward islet XTx suggest animal ethics concerns may extend to the magnitude of animals required to treat a single patient. As clinical trials advance, addressing these values and risk tolerances is essential for developing informed consent frameworks …

Statistical Inference Is Not Moral Reasoning: The Case Against Ai On Hospital Ethics Boards, Elan J. Haronian

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

As generative AI becomes more integrated in healthcare, it seems inevitable that AI will eventually be used on hospital ethics committees. However, before implementation, their roles need careful consideration. Although AI promises to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and reduce human workloads, there are important ways in which it is limited, especially when human emotion and connection are crucial, as in clinical ethics boards.

In this paper, I highlight several problems preventing AI from being useful on hospital ethics boards. These include issues of opaque reasoning (the “black box” problem), liability, transparency, privacy, and consent. While there are proposed frameworks for …

Re-Purposing Pre-Existing Tilapia Aquaculture Open-Design System For Zebrafish Biomedical Research Purposes, Luke Cantu, David Sierra, Skyleigh Curtis, Maya Avila

ATU Scholars Symposium

Title: Re-purposing pre-existing tilapia open-design aquaculture systems for zebrafish biomedical research purposes.

Background: Zebrafish (Danio rerio) models are gaining popularity in biomedical research; however, the high infrastructure cost, at approximately $20,000 per unit, is a significant hurdle for primary undergraduate institutions (PUIs) establishing zebrafish facilities. This study assesses if repurposing existing tilapia open-design aquaculture systems could be a cost-effective method for zebrafish facility establishment.

Methods: Between November-2025 to February-2026, the study used a pre-existing tilapia aquaculture open-design system with personnel modified outlet filters. The water quality of this system was monitored and recorded. The study compared the stabilization phase or …

Participation In Ethics Consultation And Moral Resilience In Icu Nursing: Findings From An Exploratory Secondary Analysis, Sarah Sumner

Providence Nursing Research Conference 2023 – Present

No abstract provided.

Trends In Adolescent Research And Practice: A Focused Study Of An Institutional Review Board Protocols For 2023, Kayode O. Ogunwenmo, Dora O. Akinboye, Grace O. Tayo, Cajethan O. Ezeamagu

Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association

Adolescence is a complex phase of life with experiences and changes too rapid than apparent. A structured review of 1,023 protocols (2023) at our Review Board reflected the magnitude of diverse issues and challenges facing adolescents, which include health-seeking (41.5%), psycho-social (22.7%), risky behavior (21.2%), education (13.2%) and safety (1.45%).

Exploring Anticoagulant Prescription Disparities: A Focus On Hispanic Patient Care, Michael Acevedo, Vanessa Veltre

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Anticoagulants play a critical role in preventing thromboembolic events, yet disparities persist in their prescription among minority populations. This presentation explores inequities in anticoagulant prescribing patterns, with a specific focus on Hispanic patient care. Using retrospective electronic health record data, we analyzed the prescription rates of warfarin versus direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) among adults with clinical indications for anticoagulation. Our findings reveal that Hispanic patients are significantly less likely to receive DOACs compared to non-Hispanic White patients, even after adjusting for demographics, comorbidities, and insurance status. Contributing factors include language barriers, lack of insurance, and potential implicit bias in provider …

Evaluating Industry Relationships And Transparency: Insights From Orthopedic Surgeons In The Cms Open Payments Database, Anesu K. Murambadoro, Mario Keko, Edward Rodriguez, John J. Wixted

Research Symposium

Introduction: Industry payments to physicians may risk introducing bias into patient care. The Open Payments (OP) database, established by Physician Payments Sunshine Act, reports these payments to promote transparency. Orthopedic surgeons receive the highest industry payments especially in the category of royalties/licensing, prompting questions about conflicts of interest and whether the database accurately reflects the status across the specialty. We hypothesize that the OP database underrepresents the relationships that orthopedic surgeons have with industry. We seek to assess the validity of reported industry payments, particularly in the categories of royalties and licensing payments to determine how to improve transparency and …

Anesthesia And Pain Management In Conflict-Affected Regions: Addressing Global Health Barriers To Access And Quality Of Care​, Naeel Uddin, Sierra Brown, Maria Easler, Ayanda Mkhize, Marwa Hamdam, Chandu Goli, Lauren Draper

Annual Research Symposium

This poster examines how to deliver safe, effective anesthesia and pain control in areas with limited resources and ongoing security threats. Focusing on portable technology, ketamine-based protocols, and telemedicine, we highlight ethical considerations, training needs, and global collaborations. Our findings outline a pathway to reduce suffering and improve surgical outcomes in vulnerable populations by addressing challenges unique to conflict settings.

Standardizing Clinical Ethics Consultation Documentation, Yoo Sun (Sunny) Jeong, Stephanie Kukora, Ásdís Finnsdóttir Wagner, Dawn Hood Patterson

Research Days

Background:

Clinical ethics consultations (CECs) require documentation. There is a paucity of literature and resources to guide clinical ethicists in documenting consults. High quality documentation encourages transparency between patients and clinicians, while keeping interdisciplinary team members knowledgeable about evolving care plans. However, there are discrepancies in the details captured in the CEC notes and accompanying recommendations.

Objectives/Goal:

To identify how CECs are documented in the medical record and assess whether there is consistent inclusion of relevant information.

Methods/Design:

Retrospective review of CECs conducted at a free-standing children’s hospital from January 2018- June 2023 was conducted. CECs were captured by cross-referencing …

Chronic Schizophrenia Presenting With Psychogenic Polydipsia Masking Stage Iv Uterine Adenocarcinoma, Dakota B. Pastore, Kamayel Jaludi, Angelo Sica

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: Psychogenic polydipsia (PPD) is a condition of excessive water intake and seeking behavior with a 6-20% prevalence among patients with psychiatric illnesses, commonly Schizophrenia. It remains unknown how often concomitant disease can mask other, more serious conditions in psychiatric patients.

Case Description: The patient is a 58-year-old Hispanic, white female with chronic schizophrenia complicated by multiple hospitalizations for hyponatremia secondary to PPD. The patient initially presented to the emergency department (ED) in 2016 with abdominal pain, was treated symptomatically and discharged. From 2020 to 2023, the patient was readmitted seven more times, with two suspected aspirin overdoses, an Ambien …

Accessibility To Gender Affirming Treatments For Transgender Patients In New Jersey, Tara Young, Tara Pellegrino

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: The literature clearly indicates that gender affirming treatments, such as gender reassignment surgery, counseling, exogenous hormones, and feminization/masculinization surgery, are highly effective and beneficial for transgender patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this review was to assess the barriers to accessing gender affirming treatments in New Jersey.

Methods: This review utilized the PubMed database and Google searches to gather information. The search terms included LGBTQ healthcare, LGBTQ Medicaid, transgender treatment, transgender healthcare, top surgery New Jersey, New Jersey Medicare and Medicaid, and transgender Health Insurance in New Jersey.

Results: New Jersey State Medicaid covers both gender affirming surgery and …

Unveiling The Potential: The Role Of Ai-Enhanced Ecg In Cardiovascular Disease Detection, Alisha Vincent

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: The Electrocardiogram (ECG) is a widely utilized, non-invasive, cost-effective cardiac test. Its integration with Artificial Intelligence (AI) has empowered it to become a potent screening tool and a predictor for various cardiovascular diseases, especially in asymptomatic individuals. Objective: This review investigates the utility of AI-powered ECG in early detection of cardiac conditions, focusing on conditions such as low ejection fraction (LEF), atrial fibrillation (AF), aortic valve stenosis (AVS), and cardiac amyloidosis (CA). Methods: A literature review spanning 2018 to 2024 was conducted, analyzing 10 articles - 3 on AF, 3 on AVS, 3 on LEF, and …

Spot The Signs - Comunicación Es Lo Más Importante, Daniel Rios, Victoria Wong Murray, Alexus Weatherspoon, Amy Palen, Kenneth W. Stagliano, Stephen M. Scheinthal

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Opiate overdose is an unfortunately common risk factor for suicide; suicide attempts accounted for an estimated 30% of fatal opioid overdoses during the pandemic. As a result, the Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine Department of Psychiatry developed an Integrated Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention program targeted at members of the community and frontline workers to increase awareness and provide brief interventions, which demonstrated an improvement of 89% in our English-speaking attendees.

Spanish is the most common non-English language in New Jersey, with an estimated 1.3 million speakers. Hispanic patients also frequently experience culturally bound stigmas, so it is vital …

---

Go to article

Spot The Signs- 防范未然，及时干预- 培训, Kenny Kah-Keng Leng, Victoria Wong Murray, Alexus Weatherspoon, Amy Palen, Kenneth W. Stagliano, Stephen M. Scheinthal

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Opiate overdose is an unfortunately common risk factor for suicide; suicide attempts accounted for an estimated 30% of fatal opioid overdoses during the pandemic, and patients with an episode of opiate overdose were at an 18 times higher risk of suicide in the following year. As a result, the Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine Department of Psychiatry developed an Integrated Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention program targeted at members of the community and frontline workers to increase awareness and provide brief interventions, which demonstrated an improvement of 89% in our English-speaking attendees.

Chinese is the second-most common non-English language …

---

Go to article

Colorblind Racial Attitudes And Emotion Dysregulation: Impact On White People’S Ethnocultural Empathy And Feelings Towards People Of Color, Vanessa L. Veltre, Alissa Hochman

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Colorblind racial attitudes, which minimize the importance of race, have been identified as a barrier to understanding systemic racism and fostering empathy towards people of color (POC). This study aimed to examine the relationship between emotion dysregulation and White people's ethnocultural empathy and warmth towards people of color, and to explore the potential moderating role of colorblind racial attitudes.

The study utilized data from 511 White participants (ages 19-50) who completed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Colorblind Racial Attitudes Scale (CoBRAS), Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy (SEE), and a feeling thermometer scale measuring warmth towards POC. Participants were categorized …

A Persuasive Case Against Government Authority In End-Of-Life Decisions For Vegetative Patients, Helen Gizachew

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The debate over whether the government should have jurisdiction to withdraw life support from people in a vegetative state is heating up, producing a persuasive case emphasizing the need to protect human liberty and oppose government overreach in matters of life and death. The key tenet of this argument is individual autonomy, which stresses a person's freedom to make decisions about their own life and body. Giving the government the authority to decide the fate of people in vegetative states violates this basic right, setting a dangerous precedent that undermines personal liberty and self-determination. Entrusting such decisions to a bureaucratic …

Healthcare For Undocumented People In America, Richard Pazer

Graduate Student Research Symposium

Millions of undocumented people live in America and roughly a million have entered every year since 2021. This is a hot-button issue in mainstream politics for a variety of reasons. However, there is an issue that tends to get overlooked which is their health care. In most states, undocumented people do not qualify for healthcare coverage of any kind. This leaves them reliant on EMTALA and emergency departments (ED). Through an examination of the various state and federal policies that pertain to undocumented people’s healthcare coverage, we can see that these people are in desperate need of assistance. It becomes …

Investigating Racial And Ethnic Healthcare Disparities In Screenable Ob/Gyn-Related Cancers, Lara Laughrey

Annual Research Symposium

This is a scoping review of peer-reviewed literature addressing healthcare inequity based on race and ethnicity with a specific focus on Ob/Gyn-related management and treatment of screenable cancers.

Early Onset Colorectal Cancer: Research, Trends & Challenges, Sarah E. Smith

Capstone Showcase

Early onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) incidence and mortality are rising in a global trend, contrasting with improvements seen in late-onset colorectal cancer (LOCRC). EOCRC appears to differ in presentation, histology, and pathology from LOCRC painting concerns of a more aggressive tumor profile. With incidence steadily climbing, there is still lacking awareness and guidance on screening for EOCRC. This article aims to provide background on EOCRC including epidemiology, risk factors, and traits, as well as to explore methods for adjusting provider screening criteria to combat this concerning trend.

Well-Being And Resilience: A Survey Of Physician Needs During Covid-19, Delta, And Omicron, Melinda M. Wilding

Research Colloquium

Background: Physician moral distress during COVID-19, Delta, and Omicron has resulted in a decrease in self-care and a reduction in empathy for patients. Determining physician well-being and resilience assists clinicians in maintaining pliancy during times of uncertainty.

Methods: An IRB quantitative survey aims to illustrate levels of moral distress, self-care tactics, and physician fortitude during the three waves of the pandemic from 2020-2022. The questionnaire elicits responses regarding how physicians have pivoted to remain healthy during the pandemic, what measures physicians have engaged in maintaining empathy and ethics towards patients, and what physicians need in the future to retain self-care. …

Patient Safety Workshop: A Graduate Medical Education Interprofessional Simulation Half-Day, Ans Albustamy, Roque Mifuji, Michelle Lopez, Teresa Villagomez, Chelsea Chang

Research Symposium

Introduction: As per the National Academy of Medicine, patient safety is considered indistinguishable from the delivery of quality health care, and is referred to as the foundation upon which all other aspects of quality care are built. Throughout the years, graduate medical education (GME) across the world has evolved to ensure the training of future medical professionals includes exposure to many of the elements that compose patient safety, such as implementing root cause analysis, systems thinking, and disclosing adverse events. University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is the sponsoring institution for 19 GME programs across different specialties. As part …

The Blurred Lines Between Medicine And Wellness: A Historical Approach Comparing Osteopathic Physicians, Chiropractors, And Physical Therapists, Heather Soled, Dylan Trawinski, Sonya Priven, Sheam Jahan

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

In modern society, there stands a large number of medical titles with nuances that complicate the layperson’s ability to differentiate standard of care and capabilities. As the world evolves, new job opportunities in the medical and related fields are being constructed to provide positions with various levels of certifications that qualify many caregivers to provide similar and often coexisting levels of care. Some disciplines may agree or disagree on principle; this is just one point of confusion for the mass. Furthermore, disciplines that disagree on principle may still apply analogous treatment models. Such confusion has yielded several challenges for less …

Evaluation Of Available Medical Interpretation Resources Available To Spanish-Speaking Patients In Nj Ahec Counties, Magdalene Lederer, Cindy Nativi, Madhav Patel, Joseph Mendoza, Nhi Tran, Yesha Patel, Melissa Vincent, Rebecca Moore

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

According to the US Census Bureau Spanish is the most common non-English language spoken in the US. Despite the growing population of Spanish-speaking individuals, most healthcare providers can only communicate in English. Linguistic differences between patients and providers have been identified to impact the quality of care received, therefore, it is not surprising that Spanish-speaking patients have been found to be less satisfied with healthcare. Language barriers in healthcare lead to poor compliance and underuse of services which eventually negatively impact health outcomes. Several studies found that the most effective communication tools are often underutilized, with healthcare providers relying on …

Healthcare Disparities In The Lgbtqia+ Community: A Scoping Review Of Community Vs Provider Experiences, Uttara Hardikar, Alisha Vincent, Venkateswar Venkataman, Millicent Channell

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: It is well-established that healthcare disparities exist in the LGBTQIA+ community. The divide is a growing concern exacerbated by recent changes in the healthcare and sociopolitical climate. To eliminate this divide and find ways to deliver better outcomes to the LGBTQIA+ is a dire need. This report analyzes the possible reasons from the community as well as the providers perspective, with a goal to find best practices that could be implemented in both components.

Methods: A scoping literature review was carried out as described below to collect perspectives from both sides: patients as well as providers.

Results: From patient …

Maldi-Tof Ms Based Proteomic Fingerprinting Of Total Serum Plasma For Somatic Pain Syndromes, Isaiah Pinkerton, Venkateswar Venkataraman

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

There are racial and ethnic disparities regarding pain management within the United States, and that disproportionately affects women of color. There is also a fundamental lack of information regarding the biological mechanism by which pain sensitization and perception occurs, and how it could be affected by both neurologic and somatic pain syndromes.

Methods: Research was performed on principal electronic scientific databases including Google Scholar, PubMed, and Embase with search terms “MALDI-TOF”, “ESI-MS”, “Pain”, and “Biomarkers”, as well as other modifiers to narrow the literature search.

Results: Studies on comparison between MALDI-TOF and other traditional analysis platforms, including Electrospray Ionization (ESI-MS), …

Do Adolescent Patients Have A Right To Be Informed About Fertility Preservation Options By Virtue Of The Conventions On The Rights Of The Child?, Giulia Adele Dinicola

Graduate Student Research Symposium

The 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child not only states that children should be heard in matters of their concern according to their age and maturity, but also that children should have a right to have access to information. However, when it comes to medical indications, a consensus has not been reached on whether parents should disclose healthcare complications to their adolescent child. Adolescent disclosure becomes even more controversial when related to non-lifesaving procedures. In the United States, one child in 285 children is diagnosed with cancer every year, but thanks to improvements in medicine, the …

The Hermeneutics Of Nudging: The Reciprocity Between Transhumanism And Nudging, Ian Doherty

Graduate Student Research Symposium

This paper investigates and evaluates the implications of nudging someone toward transhumanism. Transhumanism offers a path to alleviate suffering and transcend our physical and mental limitations. Transhumanist technologies consist of alterations like genetic modification, neural implants, and molecular nanotechnology. These technologies are meant to give people full morphological freedom over their bodies. Although transhumanism remains a largely unknown movement, this is where nudge theory can help raise its prominence. Nudge theory aims to help people make better choices, and aid them in making better decisions related to their health and lifestyle. If paired correctly, transhumanism seems to be a perfect …