We began with a simple question: how can we reflect upon the past to protect the future? In the spirit of using historical lessons to inform contemporary practice, we looked to Maimonides, the 12th century physician, rabbi, philosopher and founding father of Jewish medical ethics for inspiration. Maimonides stated, "May I never see in the patient anything but a fellow creature in pain." During the Holocaust, medical professionals did not see their patients as fellow human beings. Instead, they viewed them as a means to an end to be manipulated by the scientific theories and medical advances of the time in an attempt to create a better society. Thus, the idea of returning to Maimonides and instilling in medical professionals a moral ethos that emphasizes the importance of individual dignity and the absolute necessity of putting human life ahead of scientific progress became our driving force.
In the spring of 2015, Dr. Stacy Gallin organized a Conference on Medicine, Bioethics, and the Holocaust, a world class event that brought together internationally renowned healthcare professionals, scholars, bioethicists, and leaders in the field with interested members of the community to begin a dialogue on the importance of creating enduring programs to ensure that this type of medically sanctioned genocide and abuse of human rights never happens again. Building off of the success of this conference, the Maimonides Institute for Medicine, Ethics and the Holocaust was founded.
Three-Year Plan:
Five-Year Plan:
In the spring of 2015, Dr. Stacy Gallin organized a Conference on Medicine, Bioethics, and the Holocaust, a world class event that brought together internationally renowned healthcare professionals, scholars, bioethicists, and leaders in the field with interested members of the community to begin a dialogue on the importance of creating enduring programs to ensure that this type of medically sanctioned genocide and abuse of human rights never happens again. Building off of the success of this conference, the Maimonides Institute for Medicine, Ethics and the Holocaust was founded.
Three-Year Plan:
- Medicine, Ethics and the Holocaust Course
Bring together a team of curriculum advisors to create and pilot a semester long course in medicine, ethics and the Holocaust to be offered online as well as at universities and medical schools throughout the world. MIMEH will use the data collected from the webinar series and subsequent web conferences to create a needs assessment that can help establish the necessity of including full- length courses on this topic into graduate and medical education. - Establish an Association for Medicine, Ethics and Vulnerable Populations
Beginning with the abuse of biomedical ethics that took place under the Third Reich, this association will explore various examples of human rights abuses in vulnerable populations throughout modern history. Examples of vulnerable populations include (but are not limited to): minority cultures, the elderly, the mentally ill, children, incarcerated populations, and prisoners of war.
Five-Year Plan:
- Certification Program in Medicine, Ethics, and Vulnerable Populations
- Use the course on Medicine, Ethics, and the Holocaust as a foundation for the development of a certification program in Medicine, Ethics and Vulnerable Populations. Establish the need for certification that goes beyond basic human research and emphasizes the formation of guidelines for the ethical treatment of vulnerable populations throughout the world.
- Inaugural Conference/Meeting of the Association for Medicine, Ethics and Vulnerable Populations
Bring together scholars and key influencers to develop requirements for certification program. Begin working on the creation of a digital journal that will serve as the main resource for academic research in this area. Expand our educational platform to include not only the curriculum required for certification, but also the journal, blog, interactive think tank, and links to social media.