ACLP Bioethics SIG

Welcome

Welcome! We are delighted that you are here. The ACLP Bioethics Special Interest Group (SIG) is a dedicated community of consultation liaison psychiatrists committed to navigating the complex ethical landscape of patient care. Our mission is to foster deep dialogue around ethical challenges and to champion bioethics education both within our specialty and across the broader medical community.

The SIG serves as a vibrant hub for professional growth and connection, providing members with:

Engaging Discussion: A dedicated forum for sharing case dialogues and staying current with bioethics news.

Collaborative Projects: Opportunities to partner with colleagues on workshops, posters, and journal articles.

Dynamic Meetings: Monthly Zoom calls to coordinate workgroups and discuss pressing ethical issues, plus face-to-face networking at the ACLP annual meetings.

Interest in bioethics is increasing and our community is growing every day. Whether you are a long-time practitioner or new to the field, we warmly invite you to attend our workshops, explore our oral papers and posters, and join our meetings.

We are always looking for fresh perspectives and invite you to become an active voice in our upcoming discussions. We look forward to seeing you there!

Leadership of the Bioethics SIG

Anita Chang, DO (Chair)
Diana Punko, MD (Vice-Chair)

Work group leads:

Emily Holmes, MD - Educational Materials
Pranayjit Adsule, MBBS - DEIA
Celeste Peay, MD, JD - Bibliography Update
Nick Flugard, MD - Website Update

Anita Chang, DO

Chair

Diana Punko, MD

Vice-Chair

Goals of the SIG

Provide a forum for exchange of ideas and address the challenges at the interface of bioethics and CL psychiatry.
Provide education and training in bioethics for CL psychiatrists.
Develop and present workshops, brief oral papers, and posters on bioethics topics at the ACLP annual meeting.
Collaborate on research and create publications.
Encourage publication of complex bioethics case presentations and topics in JACLP and other relevant journals

Resources

Bioethics Annotated Bibliography

The SIG's Bibliography Task Force has compiled an annotated list of ethics-related articles, books, and Internet resources available since 1999 that it selected as being especially important to students, trainees, and faculty in the field of CL Psychiatry. The first ethics bibliography was published in Psychosomatics (now JACLP) in 1999. The online bibliography was updated in 2015. A workgroup within the SIG has updated and annotated the bibliography in 2026. See the bibliography here.

How To Guides

The How To Guides available online through ACLP’s website are an excellent resource for trainees and anyone looking for a straightforward guide to approaching different aspects of CL psychiatry. Many include bioethics topics such as “Treatment Over Objection”; please be sure to check them out!

Past Ethics-related Presentations at ACLP’s Annual Meetings

Find a compilation of the multitude of ethics-related workshops and presentations that have been showcased at recent ACLP annual meetings here. This resource is based on available records and currently includes presentations from 2016 onward.

Join Us!

Joining our community is a simple two-step process, and we would be thrilled to have you with us!

Becoming a Member

To participate in our Special Interest Group, you first need to join the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (ACLP). The Academy is more than just a professional organization; it is a source of inspiration, a vibrant networking hub, and a premier space for lifelong learning.

As an ACLP member, you’ll enjoy a range of benefits, including a subscription to the Academy’s publication, the Journal of the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. To get started, please visit [Join ACLP] for more information.

Staying Connected

For real-time communication, we host a monthly Zoom meeting, currently occurring on the 4th Wednesday of each month at 2pm Eastern Time Zone.

Much of our SIG’s daily activity happens on the shared workspace platform, Basecamp. This is the primary way we share ideas, resources, meeting reminders, and other updates. Once you are an ACLP member, you can officially join our SIG to gain access to these group conversations.

For a step-by-step guide on how to sign up, please visit How to Join a SIG. We look forward to welcoming you to our community!

A Brief History of the ACLP Bioethics SIG

In 2008, a reorganization of ACLP's committee structure led to the establishment of the Bioethics Special Interest Group. The SIG was originally the Bioethics Subcommittee, chaired by Dr. Maurice Steinberg until 2002 and by Dr. Mary Ann Cohen until 2008. Dr. Cohen continued as chair when the subcommittee became the Bioethics SIG.

In 2012, Dr. Rebecca Brendell joined Dr. Cohen as co-chair of the Bioethics SIG. Subsequently, the SIG has been chaired by Dr. Shannon Mazur, Dr. Kenn Ashley, Dr. Samantha Zwiebel, and Dr. Anita Chang. We wish to acknowledge the amazing support we receive from our SIG mentors, Dr. Cynthia Geppert and Dr. Ashley.

The SIG has had, and continues to have, many of the most influential pioneers and prolific contributors to the field of bioethics - too many to name here. We appreciate everyone involved in the SIG - from the members on the listserv who share and learn from the group to the members who write, think, and present on bioethics in a wide variety of spaces.