Professor of Legal Studies and Health Care Systems Arnold Rosoff led a discussion at the Psi Upsilon fraternity house last night on informed consent for medical treatment.
The roughly 30 attendees hailed mainly from the fraternity the co-sponsoring Penn Bioethics Society.
College junior Andrew Rosenthal -- a member of Psi Upsilon, Penn's Bioethics Society and Rosoff's Health Care Management class -- coordinated the event.
"I wanted to bring someone who is an eminent scholar into my house and have him talk to my friends about a complex topic and really break it down," Rosenthal said.
Rosoff discussed the meaning and importance of informed consent and the way in which laws surrounding the topic are evolving in an increasingly technological world.
"I think it was a huge success," Rosenthal said. "We had kind of a technical topic that is abstract [involving] legal cases and theories discussed in ... half an hour."
He noted that the topic really resonated with the crowd because it is applicable to undergraduate students as medical patients and possibly as future professionals.
College sophomore and "fringe" Bioethics Society member Kate Wallis said she found the discussion interesting since she is considering going into the medical field.
"Bioethics has such an impact on the doctor/patient relationship and how that has evolved over time and how that is an ever-evolving relationship," Wallis said.
The last faculty speaker hosted by Psi Upsilon was Political Science Professor Ian Lustick, who spoke on the possibility of war in Iraq. This year's talk marked the first time in recent years that the event was co-sponsored.
Rosenthal noted that the event was close to the heart of another campus group and therefore merited the co-sponsorship.
"There never has been such a topic that is really so close to another group," Rosenthal said. "This house prides itself on being open and really having people come in its front door."
The presentation was followed by a two-course dinner during which discussion about the consent for medical treatment continued.
