What is Health Ethics Week?
An event that is in rapid expansion, the annual National Health Ethics Week is a time Canadian health institutions, schools and universities, research and clinical ethics committees, healthcare professionals, community organizations, businesses, and members of the general public set aside to host and take part in educational events that explore health ethics that affect Canadians.
2025 National Health Ethics Week
November 2-8, 2025, is National Health Ethics Week (NHEW). The goals of this week include raising awareness and promoting dialogue about healthcare issues facing our communities.
Earlier this year, NSHEN provided support to Ethics Nova Scotia Health with conducting an Ethics Needs Assessment (ENA) to (a) learn more about the ethics issues and questions that are experienced across the organization, and (b) raise awareness about existing ethics supports. Ethical issues pertaining to substitute decision-making and family engagement were high on the list of the top 10 most frequently identified ethics themes that healthcare providers struggle with.
For this reason, we are using NHEW as an opportunity to flag NSHEN’s key educational resources on substitute decision-making to raise awareness and promote dialogue about the challenges that can arise when working with substitute decision-makers (SDMs).
Every day this week we will be posting a variety of ethics resources including cases, podcasts, videos and more.
Monday:
Ethics Nova Scotia Health
Ethics Needs Assessment (ENA)
2025 – Highlights
The ENA was a mechanism for raising awareness about existing ethics supports and resources,
building relationships and fostering collaboration, and gaining further insight into the ethics issues and
questions experienced across the organization. It was also an opportunity to learn more about the
strengths and potential gaps in the new Ethics Nova Scotia Health structure. The survey results
provided valuable insights into the most pressing ethics issues. It also revealed the need for ongoing
and intensified efforts to raise awareness of Ethics Nova Scotia Health and the ethics supports
available through this service.
Case: Discussion with Staff on New Scheduling
You are the manager of an outpatient clinic that serves patients from throughout the Maritimes. Many of these patients travel for their appointments and are trying to minimize time away from work, so after a discussion with the Patient Feedback team the decision is made to open the clinic on Saturdays and Sundays on a trial basis. It is also hoped that this will reduce wait times for appointments. You must tell your team about this change, which you suspect will be unpopular. How will you structure the conversation?
In addition, you need to determine a fair process for deciding who will take the weekend shifts. Some of your staff have children, while others do not. Several staff members have other commitments on the weekends, such as sports teams and volunteer work. You want to approach the conversation about staffing in a way that won’t create resentments between colleagues and are wondering how to do that.
You’re the only dietician working in an outpatient clinic and you’ve got an 8-year-old child as well as a parent whom you’re caring for at home. You’ve caught wind of a plan to open the clinic on weekends and you’re angry because you know that you will be required to work weekends, and this will reduce the time you have with your family and increase costs for caregiving. What are you planning on saying as you go into a meeting to discuss these changes?
Discussion Questions:
- How did your response to the case shift when you read about it from a different perspective?
- What do you see as the most important values for each person involved in the conversation?
- What are the ethical concerns raised by this situation?
- Are there aspects of decision making that could have been handled differently to reduce the likelihood of having difficult conversations?
- What sorts of supports might help this difficult conversation to go well?
References:
Danigelis, A. 2010. How to Communicate Employee Expectations Effectively https://www.inc.com/guides/2010/08/how-to-communicate-employee-expectations-effectively.html
Gooch, K. 2018. 7 healthcare leaders on conducting difficult conversations with peers. Becker’s Hospital Review, Published September 28, 2018. https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-management-administration/6-healthcare-leaders-on-conducting-difficult-conversations-with-peers.html
Forbes Coaches Council. 13 Ways Managers Can Initiate Tough Conversations With Employees. Published September 28, 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/09/28/13-ways-managers-can-initiate-tough-conversations-with-employees/#196674672d9e
Hampbley, C. Managing Difficult Conversations with Practice Staff. Physicians Practice, February 9, 2017. https://www.physicianspractice.com/staff/managing-difficult-conversations-practice-staff
Ontario Medical Association. Managing Your Medical Office Staff – An HR Guide for Physicians. Section C: Motivation and Retention. https://www.oma.org/wp-content/uploads/1_managingyourmedicalofficestaff.pdf
Tuesday
Podcast
Working with Patients and Substitute Decisions-Makers (SDMs)
An Education Guide for Nova Scotia Health Team Members
with
Marika Warren, NSHEN Ethicist
and
Amanda Porter, Ethics Collaboration Team
Education guide for staff: Working with Patients and Substitute Decision-makers: Home – Working with Patients and Substitute Decisions-Makers (SDMs) – LibGuides at Nova Scotia Health
Patient and family guide: Making Health Care Decisions for Someone Else: Acting as a Substitute Decision-Maker (SDM) | Nova Scotia Health
Ethics Nova Scotia Health’s Library Subject Guide: Accessing Ethics Support – Ethics Nova Scotia Health – LibGuides at Nova Scotia Health
