Michael van Manen

Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Pediatrics Dept

Contact

Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Pediatrics Dept
Email
michaelv@ualberta.ca

Overview

Area of Study / Keywords

qualitative research phenomenology ethics pedagogy pediatrics NICU antenatal counseling neonatology parental stress ethics technology qualitative phenomenology technology


About

<span style="color:#333333;font-family:Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;background-color:rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.498039);">When we speak of ethics in medicine, we tend to think of the moral correctness of certain actions and decisions. From an ethical perspective we may question whether a medical intervention is appropriate, or if to continue a particular treatment is good practice. Ethics, however, is more than a discipline dealing with what is good or bad decisions and actions. Ethics is founded in our relationships with others, originating from a questioning concern for whom or what is &ldquo;other&rdquo; to ourselves.</span><br style="color:#333333;font-family:Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;" /><p style="margin:0.8em 0em 0em;padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border:0px;line-height:1.5em;font-family:Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#333333;">My research program attends to the relational ethics of the practice of pediatrics&mdash;which we may call &ldquo;pedagogy.&rdquo; Essentially, the pedagogy of pediatrics is concerned with the question, how ought we to care for this child? But this ethical-medical question is complicated by the fact that the child&rsquo;s mother and/or father are also givers and receivers of the pedagogy of care.</p><p style="margin:0.8em 0em 0em;padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;border:0px;line-height:1.5em;font-family:Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;color:#333333;">Pediatric pedagogy and pediatric technology are intimately related as the use of technologies by and with children is wrought with ethical and often moral issues. In medical care, technologies may affect or compromise the relation between adult and child, impacting the way the adult (parent or health practitioner) experiences and responds to the child. Modern technologies also offer novel possibilities for children: facilitating and shaping their social interactions with others and creating new opportunities for action. This research program explores how the practices of pediatric medicine and uses of medical technologies require of the practitioner to recognize and deal with pedagogical issues.</p>