Ethics of Dealing with Risks in Military Medicine – 9th ICMM Workshop on Military Medical Ethics

The ICMM Centre of Reference for Education on IHL and Ethics, the Medical Services Directorate of the Swiss Armed Forces, and the Zurich Center for Military Medical Ethics are pleased to announce the 9th ICMM workshop on Military Medical Ethics.

Ethics of Dealing with Risks in Military Medicine
20-24 May 2019 at the Congress Center Basel (CH)
 
Topic and Call for Papers
Uncertainty and risk are key features of the mission planning phase as well as the working environment of military and humanitarian medical personnel. Risks cannot be avoided during the planning on strategic, operational, and tactical levels. Risk assessment is a risky job itself and relies on uncertain intelligence and predicative models. Ethical questions arise early during planning as risks make it difficult to predict the outcomes and challenges of missions.

On the ground, health care personnel (HCP) have to make decisions under conditions of risk and uncertainty as a result of incomplete knowledge, the complexity of the situation, and the kinds of medical intervention needed. During missions, HCP are subject to (at least) two different kinds of risks. They risk being harmed themselves physically or mentally, and they also risk harming others and ethical misconduct. Both risks are reinforced by the uncertainty and duress of the working environment.

Our workshop proposes to analyze the moral and ethical dimensions of risks in military medicine and how they can be taken into account in military and humanitarian medical ethics.