Neurosurgery and Medical Ethics

About the talk

Mark speaks about his experiences developing new techniques for neurosurgery; error and patient safety; the ethics of introducing surgical innovation; neuroethics; priority setting; ethical issues in surgical education; conflict of interest; informed consent; research ethics; and international surgery. In his presentation he describes his many trips to Africa offering assistance and training.

About the speaker

Dr. Mark Bernstein entered the Neurosurgical Training Program at the University of Toronto in 1976. During his residency he spent two years at the University of California San Francisco on an MRC (now CIHR) funded Research Fellowship at the Brain Tumor Research Center. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada in 1984. He is Professor in the Department of Surgery, and a neurosurgeon at the Toronto Western Hospital. His clinical practice focuses on neuro-oncology with research interests in innovative treatment strategies, outcomes, and medical ethics. In 2003 he obtained a MHSc in Bioethics and current CIHR grant supported research interests are focused on exploring various areas of bioethics using qualitative methodology. He is a committed educator and has won numerous teaching awards. He is also committed to international surgery and has been to the developing world many times as a neurosurgical educator.

A Toronto academic neurosurgeon of more than forty years, he has studied surgical error across his own 2000–2019 caseload, practised awake craniotomy, and helped build neurosurgical capacity in more than fifteen lower-income countries. His three A's for surgeons who err: acknowledge, acquire knowledge, ask forgiveness.