Hi, I'm Stephen Latham.
I'm the Director of the Yale University Interdisciplinary
Center for Bioethics.
And I am here with Santiago Peregalli, and
we're going to talk about Santiago, and his
own background, and what he's been doing at
the Summer Institute.
So, start off - tell me where you were educated
and what you studied.
Okay, thank you, Stephen.
So, I started studying medicine in Montevideo
in Uruguay, then I continued my studies in
Madrid, in Spain, and during my studies in
Madrid, I came to the Bioethics Center for
the summer program, and it was I'd say, my
first contact with Bioethics, not my first
but the most important one.
And I fell in love with Bioethics at the moment,
and then when I finished my medical studies,
I moved to Switzerland, to Geneva to do my
residency in child and adolescent psychotherapy,
which I am doing right now.
And at the same time, I got a scholarship
for a Master's in Bioethics and Law at the
University of Barcelona, so I did my Master's
and I finished it, and now I am continuing
my research in transgender rights - transgender
adolescent rights.
So, focusing on Bioethics and also on the
medical part, medical issues of that.
So, the summer program actually drew you into
Bioethics?
Yes!
That's the reason why you went to get the
law Master's at all.
Yes.
So, what kind of work are you doing in the
transgender area?
So, in the transgender area, what I'm doing
is I'm asking if the transgender adolescent
has the right to decide to get the treatment,
and to get the transition.
So, things like hormonal therapy, or surgery,
you're thinking about at what age a child
can make these choices, and so on?
Yes, it's exactly that.
And so I am analyzing the bioethical principles,
and I'm really focusing on autonomy and justice.
So from that point to decide if they have
the right to decide about their own body,
and their own desire as well.
And does it matter which thing they're deciding
about?
For example, do you think they could decide
at a younger age to go for hormone therapy
than they could decide to have transitional
surgery?
Well, I will say that they can decide to be
happy.
And they can decide about their feelings,
and who they are.
I think it's more related to that.
Okay, great.
So, what are you teaching in the summer Bioethics
program?
Here I am teaching Medical Humanities in Spanish.
In Spanish?
In Spanish, yes!
Right so this the first year that we've had
- you're also doing a discussion section in
Spanish.
Yes, exactly.
And that's because we have about - what?
- a dozen or so Spanish-speaking students
in the program this summer.
Yes, from different countries as well.
So, how's that going?
That's going great!
It's a great moment also to explain your ideas
- I mean when talking about Philosophy, Bioethics,
Law, Medicine in a foreign language will be
difficult sometimes, so it's great to have
a space to be able to express your ideas in
your mother tongue.
And that's the idea of having a seminar in
Spanish, and discussion groups in Spanish
as well.
And what are you talking about in the Medical
Humanities seminar?
So in the Medical Humanities seminar we are
focusing on the relationship between the patient
and the physician, and how arts will help
- or not, that's the discussion - to become
a better physician, a better patient, and
how the interactions between patients and
physicians will be shaped by arts.
So we are taking advantage of the Yale facilities,
and we are visiting the Yale library and museum.
We are also visiting the Yale Art Gallery,
the British Yale Museum, so we are taking
advantage of that.
And are you reading any Spanish literature,
or poetry, or anything about medicine?
Yes.
So Spanish readings?
Yes, all the readings in Spanish.
Excellent.
So, in addition to the Medical Humanities
seminar and the discussion group, you are
also teaching a Psychiatry seminar?
Yes, Psychiatry and Bioethics.
And, what kind of material are you covering
there?
So in this seminar we discuss about the relationship
and the limits of the relationship between
the psychiatrist and the patients.
We also discuss about suicide and transgender
adolescence - so transgender rights, and bipolar
disorders, bias, and stigmas related to all
the psychiatric disorders.
And the students commonly don't have much
background in psychiatry or psychology at
all, do they?
Yes, that's an excellent question because
most of the students enroll in the seminar
but they have no background for this, but
yes you can, because we are having a brief
introduction to psychiatry in the seminar
and then from that point we discuss about
all the ethical issues in psychiatry.
And even if you are not a psychiatrist, you
can have an opinion about that.
And that's the richness of the seminar, to
share this different point of view about psychiatry
and bioethics.
And do you have a sense of how many countries
the students in that seminar come from?
I guess there are more than thirteen different
countries.
Just in your seminar?
Yes.
And do they approach psychiatry or psychology
issues differently?
And that's super rich as well, because the
approaches are completely different in every
country.
America has a way of working.
Europe has a similar way of working, but then
other countries are completely different because
the resources are also different, and that's
the rich part of the seminar to share this
different experience, and how each country
manage and plan things in different ways.
Wonderful, sounds great!
I wish I could take it, but I with I could
take all the seminars.
Alright, thank you very much!
It's been great catching up with you.
Thank you, Stephen.
