As roommates and members of the Ethics Path of Excellence, dinners at our apartment often lend themselves to discussions of “hot topics” and ethical dilemmas. As curious medical students, we were eager to find a way to volunteer in the community and also share our knowledge as well as learn from others. As we explored avenues to do this, the Michigan High School Ethics Bowl fell onto our laps at the perfect time.
The Michigan High School Ethics Bowl is an annually judged tournament that challenges high school students to think and discuss ethical cases. The Bowl, held at Greenhills School in Ann Arbor, is an opportunity for teams to present case studies to a panel of judges in a series of rounds. The cases are based on real-life situations and the students are tasked with deciding what should be done and be prepared to defend their decision. The winning team is eligible to compete in the National High School Ethics Bowl to represent the state of Michigan.
At the most recent Bowl, held in February, we served as a judge and a moderator for day one of the event. We arrived at Greenhills in the morning before the tournament began and watched the high schoolers nervously prepare for their day. Dressed up to the nines, the students looked focused and determined to argue their ethical dilemmas. We met our fellow judges and moderators with experiences ranging from OBGYN attendings to undergraduate ethic professors to ethical students to art collectors.
In the first case, students debated if simulating acts of torture in games like Legend of Zelda are inappropriate, and whether such actions make the game more violent than intended by its designers. One team argued that this type of “violence” may serve as an outlet for an internal aggression while another team debated that this may enable and inspire future violent acts in adolescents. The teams engaged in an organized debate, had the opportunity to be asked questions by the judges, and were scored based on intelligibility, focus, depth and judgment. After seven rounds of vigorous debate and competition, this year’s Bowl winner was Saline High School! This is Saline High’s first time winning the Hemlock Cup in their 11-year involvement in the tournament. A truly worthy feat!
The Ethics Bowl is just one of the engaging activities provided by the Ethics Path of Excellence. This extracurricular activity offers monthly sessions led by various Michigan faculty who are experts in bioethics. We’ve had the privilege of learning from Dr. Janice Firn, MD, who shared impactful ethics consult cases; Alethia Battles, JD, MSW, who discussed guardianship and the legal aspects of hospital ethics; and Drs. Naomi Laventhal, MD, MA, and Marin Arnolds, MD, who delved into neonatal ethics and the challenges of gestational viability. Beyond these enlightening lectures, Marisa Madrigal, our dedicated facilitator, keeps us informed about community ethics events, speaker sessions featuring bioethicists from around the country and writing opportunities.
I (Sharmi) was honored to present at the 2023 Michigan State Medical Society Bioethics Conference on the ethical implications of socioeconomic health disparities in pediatric post-traumatic brain injury care. This Path of Excellence has provided an incredible platform for connecting with fellow students and faculty from the Center of Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine (CBSSM). It gives us the opportunity to delve into challenging topics in health care and helps us develop the tools to navigate them. As roommates and fellow medical students, we enjoy sharing the Path experience and continuing to learn about ethics inside and outside the hospital together!
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Amanda Hernandez is a first-year medical student at the University of Michigan. As an undergraduate student at Cornell University, she majored in Biology & Society and minored in Business and Latino Studies. Amanda strives to investigate health disparities through her research and learn the clinical skills necessary to address social needs as a future physician. As a Latina, she hopes to strengthen her medical Spanish to communicate effectively with all Latino patients. In her spare time, she coaches the Cornell University Dance Team, continues to dance, and enjoys traveling. Instagram @amanda.hern
Sharmi Amin is a second-year medical student at the University of Michigan. She attended Duke University where she studied Global Health and Environmental Policy. Sharmi is passionate about growing community mentorship programs, facilitating bioethical conversations and increasing awareness and actions to combat socioeconomic health disparities. Through research, she hopes to investigate pathways for improving surgical outcomes and expanding access to care through interprofessional student-led initiatives. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new restaurants and spending time outdoors. Instagram @sharmiamin