Feb. 2: Richard Gunderman on "Doing Well By Doing Good"

Richard Gunderman offers a new way of thinking about philanthropy and medical arts

When: Thursday February 2, noon to 1:00 PM

Where: IUPUI Medical Library 975 West Walnut Street, Building IB 301-302

Richard Gunderman is Faculty Fellow at the Tobias Center for Leadership Excellence and Co-Director of the Program in Medical Humanities at IUPUI. He is a very smart and thoughtful medical doctor who is trying seriously to think of a new model of philanthropy that might rescue his profession.

What [he asks] is the goal of medical practice? The literature of medical
ethics often seems to suppose that we face two mutually exclusive alternatives:
either to protect the incomes of physicians and healthcare organizations or to
generate value to patients and communities. In this presentation, I argue that
this familiar choice represents a false dichotomy. To be sure, if we understand
the goals of healthcare organizations in strictly financial terms, we are
operating with blinders on, and foregoing opportunities to pursue larger values.
However, there is no reason that a clear sense of professional mission should
not enrich a medical practice in both human and financial terms. Far from
undermining financial performance, ambitious professional ethics can actually
enhance it, achieving a synergism that benefits not only patients and
communities but health professionals as well. This presentation outlines the
possibilities for such synergism with illustrations from everyday medical
practice.

For a sense of what makes Richard's perspective distinctive, check out his article on "Imagining Philanthropy."

If you like this event, you should attend some of the other events related to health and medicine this spring. Hear about the particular problems of inner city health care at the Joseph Taylor Symposium February 22; hear a business perspective at conference March 8; listen to a libertarian diagnosis and prescription on May 3; and contrast all this with what Jim McClelland of Good will has to say March15.

If you want to learn more, you can contact Richard Gunderman at rbgunder@iupui.edu.

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