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At the intersection of healthcare and philosophy one ����ɫ��ҹ University alumna is hoping to make a profound impact by helping medical professionals navigate the ethical complexities of patient care. 

Mallory Wietrzykowski, a ����ɫ��ҹ University M.A. (Philosophy, 2023) alumna and current doctoral student at Saint Louis University is joining Corewell Health in Michigan as a clinical ethicist. 

A Ludington, Michigan native, Wietrzykowski began her academic career studying at Grand Valley State University in 2017 with a double major in philosophy and bioethics. 

“I had ethics in mind when I began studying philosophy, but I did not have philosophy in mind when I started college,” Wietrzykowski said. “I wanted a career in health care that would give me the opportunity to help other people. After having spent time shadowing in various health care settings, I decided to pursue a career as a physical therapist while beginning college. I had not once thought about majoring in philosophy or a career as an ethicist.”

However, while Wietrzykowski was attending her freshman honors college seminar, a philosophy professor opened her eyes to the career possibilities in applied ethics as a clinical ethicist.

“I was impressed by the challenging questions clinical ethicists had to offer recommendations for and the opportunity this work had to improve health care,” Wietrzykowski said. “As I slowly realized a career in medicine as a practitioner was not the best fit for me (the anatomy lab was the final straw), I became a philosophy major oriented towards a career in applied ethics.”

Making a local impact

Wietrzykowski took her biggest step to becoming a clinical ethicist when, as an intern, she developed an ethics workbook for the Portage County Combined General Health District, which was supported by her master’s thesis. Through the support of ����ɫ��ҹ University and under the advisement of Deborah Barnbaum, Ph.D, professor and coordinator of the Bioethics and Health Humanities Minor in the Department of Philosophy at ����ɫ��ҹ, Wietrzykowski designed the workbook to make public health ethics accessible and to guide employees through multiple ethical dilemmas.

“I wrote my master's thesis on building a theory for public health ethics,” Mallory said. “When bioethics is applied to issues in public health, it is sometimes the case that the frameworks are not well suited to public health because the functions of public health differ from clinical healthcare. This is often because public health departments are trying to make health policy and intervention decisions that impact a population rather than a patient. Thus, my project was to consider what the functions of public health were and then to reflect on how different ethics frameworks were a good fit or applicable to issues in public health.”

Wietrzykowski’s desire to guide clinics through the ethical frameworks of public health made her a uniquely qualified intern for the Portage County Combined General Health District.

“The district was in the process of reapplying for accreditation from the Public Health Accreditation Board, which is the national accreditation standard for public health departments,” Wietrzykowski said. “One aspect of this application is for the public health department to develop an ethics process of internal and external conflicts and to have evidence of the department using this process. Once I worked with staff in health education at the department to understand what kind of ethics process would be a good fit, I created an ethics workbook for the department (including an overview of different ethics theories, descriptions of how these theories can be applied in public health ethics issues, an ethics process template and several case studies).”

Ultimately, the workbook was very helpful in the district’s application to the Public Health Accreditation Board.

“This experience was a great example of the positive benefits of creating partnerships through community engagement work,” Wietrzykowski said. “I learned a lot about the daily functions of public health professional and was able to have a good experience collaborating on a meaningful project.”

As a healthcare doctoral student who is transitioning into her work as a clinical ethicist, Wietrzykowski takes on many different roles in a typical day. She attends seminars and shadows at the Saint Louis University hospital but also teaches undergraduates about the “meaningful connections between philosophical theories and practice.” She will be using the connection between philosophical theories and practice daily as a clinical ethicist at Corewell Health.

"I will utilize my knowledge of ethics and mediation skills to support practitioners with ethical issues that arise in practice, offer ethics education to students and practitioners, and develop policies to prevent ethical issues from developing in patient care within the institution,” Wietrzykowski said. “It is very exciting to have the opportunity to complete my dissertation while serving communities in West Michigan as a clinical ethicist.”

For Wietrzykowski, the most rewarding aspect of being an ethicist is the impact she gets to make in the lives around her. 

“I have had the opportunity to work with public health professionals on policy decisions with far reaching implications for populations, help my students become interested in ethics and its importance beyond the classroom and collaborate with health care professionals to create departmental ethics processes while also offering ethics education,” Wietrzykowski said. “Each of these experiences has shown me the value of applying ethics to encourage critical thinking and improve medical or public health decision-making.”

As a clinical ethicist, Wietrzykowski’s greatest asset is her ability to aid public health professionals in serving communities by orienting healthcare in a way that is respectful and transparent to the community’s culture and values. 

“Ethicists can assist public health professionals with decision-making in these situations by supporting the development of ethics processes, offering ethics education or serving an advisory role on public health ethics committees to support public health professionals making difficult decisions,” Wietrzykowski said. “While ethicists may have an active role in supporting other kinds of professional decision-making such as in hospitals or businesses, the effects of encouraging critical thinking through education or community engagement work is critical for human coexistence in societies committed to fighting oppression and inequality.”

Barnbaum was equally passionate about the role clinical ethicists play in hospitals and healthcare.

“The clinical ethicist is not always there to say, ‘here is what the answer is,’ but they are the right person to ask the right questions,” Barnbaum said. “They aide the healthcare team in guiding patients and their families in what the next step is.”

Barnbaum was pleased to meet with Wietrzykowski weekly during her internship to discuss the bioethical perspectives of her time at the Portage County Combined General Health District. 

“[Philosophy] is so essential in the development of medical students,” Barnbaum said. “Medical students are evaluated not only on their classroom work but also on their ability to communicate well with patients. Students who have studied bioethics and medical humanities are simply better able to do this.”

The Application of the Humanities 

Philosophy majors like Wietrzykowski can apply their degrees in very practical ways to various career paths, not just bioethics. Barnbaum explained that a philosophy degree is especially helpful when pursuing law.

“Philosophy majors do extraordinarily well in law school, and they do extraordinarily well in applying to law school,” Barnbaum said. “That is because philosophy majors do really well in engaging in the sweet spot of dealing with ambiguity and nuance. They are very clear writers with excellent communication skills, but they also employ analytical skills you do not necessarily get in other majors.”

, 78% of the philosophy majors who applied to law school were accepted, with a median high LSAT score of 160. A higher percentage of philosophy majors were admitted into law school than political science or pre-law majors.

To Barnbaum, this is an example of how successful students of the humanities at ����ɫ��ҹ University can be.

“Use the philosophy degree to make yourself a better candidate for medical school.” Barnbaum said. “Use it to get yourself into law school, if that is what you aspire to do. To any [potential] employer, say that you have the communication skills, the writing skills, the critical thinking skills to absolutely make a difference.”

Barnbaum also encourages upcoming College of Arts and Sciences students who are studying the humanities to recognize the value of their choice of major.

“They should not shortchange to themselves or to others the value of what it is that they have spent the past four years studying,” Barnbaum said. "Value the incredible thinking skills that you developed being in the humanities.” 

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Media Contact: 
Jim Maxwell, JMAXWEL2@kent.edu, 330-672-8028