Hi, I'm Steve Latham. I'm here with the Yale
Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics. And
I am here talking today with Sheena Eagan.
And Sheena is teaching in our Nuland Summer
Institute on Bioethics. So, I just want to
start off by asking you to tell us about your
educational background. Of course. So, I'm
originally from Canada, and I got my Bachelors
of Arts, majoring in Philosophy from the University
of New Brunswick. That's when I first got
interested in medical ethics. I was interested
in public health ethics, so then I went on
to get my MPH and the Uniformed Services University
of the Health Sciences, which is the military
medical school here in the U.S. And then,
after that, I went down to Texas and got my
PhD in the Medical Humanities from the Institute
for the Medical Humanities at the University
of Texas medical branch, and there I specialized.
In Galveston? In Galveston, Texas, exactly.
And because it's the medical humanities, and
it's a little bit amorphous and interdisciplinary,
we pick majors and minors, and so I majored
in the History of Medicine and Medical Ethics,
with a minor in Health Policy. Great. And
where are you now, when you're not at the
Summer Institute? Where are you being an academic?
Now I'm an Assistant Professor in the department
of Bioethics and Interdisciplinary Studies
at East Carolina University, and specifically
at the medical school, the Brody School of
Medicine. And what kind of work are you doing
now? Well, honestly, ever since I got my MPH
at USUS, I became really interested in military
medical ethics, that's what I specialized
my dissertation work and my doctoral research
on, and now I'm kind of living it in practice,
and so one of the reasons I have the job that
I have at ECU, is to do professional development
and outreach with nearby military installations.
So, I've been putting my dissertation work
and all the things I called for into practice,
and doing some grain rounds and workshops
at local Marine Corps bases and Army bases.
On what kinds of issues? I mean are you talking
about issues in bioethics, are you talking
about clinical ethics consultation, or what
sort of things? Well, mostly a kind of general
overview of military medical ethics to get
residents in military medical programs or
staff at these military medical facilities
to think about the unique ethical dilemmas
that they'll face that aren't necessarily
addressed by civilian, or so-called civilian
medical ethics, or civilian Bioethics education.
So, we look at the problem of dual loyalties,
that's what I focused a lot of my research
on. This idea that they're pulled in two different
directions. On one towards moral obligations
of being a physician. And the other with the
moral obligations of being a member of the
profession of arms or the professional military.
So, we talk about that. I'm sure to always
acquaint them with the recent doctrine from
the U.S. Military, then work through some
case studies to kind of get them to flex that
moral decision-making muscle. So, what are
you teaching in the Summer Institute? I teach,
coincidentally, Medical Ethics in War, Armed
Conflict, and Genocide. So, again, touching
on the problems of dual-loyalty and case studies
in military medical ethics. And then also
Public Health Ethics, which I've been teaching
for the last two years. And then finally,
new this year is Medical Humanities Seminar.
So, we'll talk about the experience of the
patient and provider in a health care institution.
So, how did you first get involved with the
Summer Institute at Yale? I actually met someone
who had attended the program as a student,
Zohar Lederman, at the UNESCO Global Conference
on Medical Ethics and Medical Law. It was
in Naples, and we met each other at some social
event, and we bonded over our mutual interest
in military medical ethics, and from then
we continued to work together, and he kind
of recruited me to be a part of this program,
and together we proposed that first class
on Medical Ethics in War. And you've taught
here for how many years? This is the fourth
year. The fourth year. So, what keeps you
coming back? I just don't think that you can
get the same experience anywhere else. I really
appreciate the diversity in the student population
- both in terms of their educational backgrounds,
coming from different fields; but also the
different countries of origin. And it makes
for very interesting discussions in class
with new perspectives and new insights, and
it allows me to learn from the students as
well, and think about things in a way that
I hadn't thought of them before. And then
the faculty is also really interesting, and
it allows me to get an understanding of what
other junior faculty in Bioethics are doing
and how we're pushing the field forward. I
was saying in an earlier interview that it's
often the case that a bioethicist at a university
is the only bioethicist at a university, that's
not quite the case where you are, but still,
it's nice to be in a place where there are
lots and lots of people from your field, from
all around the world. Oh, yeah, definitely.
I sometimes feel as though I'm so focused
on military medical ethics that don't find
out about all of the different ways the field
is going. So, when I'm here I get to have
these kind of causal conversations with faculty
members, or brainstorm about collaborative
activities that find ways to push my own research
in new directions, and where I can bring my
own skills into someone else's field of interest,
and so it's very unique in a way. Excellent.
And it's in New Haven, which is pretty. Yes,
that's true. Well, thank you very much for
being interviewed, and thanks for teaching
in the summer program, again. Thank you.
