OVERVIEW

Catholic Medical Association (CMA) 94th Annual Educational Conference is organized by Catholic Medical Association (CMA) and will be held from Sep 04 - 06, 2025 at Kansas City Marriott Downtown, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America.

Description:
The goal is to recapture some of the ways medicine had been practiced in earlier times with its focus on the individual and a greater reliance on the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Presentations will examine different models for practicing medicine, educating medical students and caring for dying patients. Human flourishing, and the timely topic of artificial intelligence (AI) and medicine will also be covered. The conference culminates with the Banquet keynote address delivered by Sister Deirdre Byrne, M.D., P.O.S.C., retired US Army Colonel and General Surgeon.

Over the past century, medicine has evolved technologically with the development of precise diagnostic testing, innovative surgical techniques, lifesaving medications and efficient ways of recording, storing and sharing information.

These advancements have provided tremendous benefits to humanity by decreasing mortality and extending life expectancy as well as improving our quality of life and our ability to live with chronic medical problems.

Unfortunately, as we have progressed, we have also regressed in many ways. We have forgotten who we are and why we are here. In many of our best medical institutions, God has been either suppressed or outright expelled. Contraception, IVF, abortion, euthanasia and modern mainstream approaches to gender dysphoria are the most blatant examples of what happens when God is removed from the practice of medicine. Sadly, health care delivery today in many ways resembles a factory assembly line or a conveyer belt. Individualized patient care has been sacrificed for efficiency and cost minimization.

Educational Objectives:
The BODY: Ever Ancient! but Ever New?
1. Demonstrate how the “prophetism of the body” leads to flourishing as a physician.
2. Assess the dangers of AI leading to a metaphysics of disembodiment.
3. Identify the ways in which medical professionals take seriously the common bodily characteristics of the human body while maintaining personalized treatment planned.

Case Discussion with Physicians: Palliative Care and Hospice
1. Scott: Explore the ethical issues surrounding VSED.
2. Marino: Define what actions are morally obligatory in treatment and utilizing the Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs) to determine the correct course of action when treating a patient.
3. Boggeln: Explore the changing dynamic when a proxy-decision maker for a near terminal teenage patient decides to reverse an advance directive in a crisis situation.
4. Sobecks: Describe the roles of compassionate care with active listening, empathy and spirituality when treating cancer patients, particularly in the end-of-life setting.