PSU Bioethics Program-Affiliated Medical Student Named AMA Journal of Ethics Theme-Issue Editor

Jenny Dobson, a Penn State medical student affiliated with the Bioethics Program, was recently selected as a theme-issue editor for the AMA Journal of Ethics!

In her upcoming issue of the journal published by the American Medical Association, Dobson will focus on the “Ethics of Care for Invisible Illnesses.”  Questions to be investigated include:  

• Does the American medical system rely too heavily on quantitative measures of disease?
• How does empathy for a patient change when no physical representation of the afflicting illness is present?
• Does society honor invisible illnesses (e.g., post-concussion syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, etc.) in the same way as other, more tangible diseases?

A call for papers and additional details for this issue will be available in the near future.