SUSAN B. RUBIN, Ph.D.
1850 Tiffin Road
Oakland, California 94602
(510) 531-3550
suerubin@ethicspractice.com
PROFESSIONAL ETHICIST
ETHICIST AND CO-FOUNDER, THE ETHICS PRACTICE (1993-present)
Develop and direct clinical and organizational ethics programs; design and implement ethics initiatives;
provide ongoing bioethics education and consultation to hospitals and health systems, health care
professionals, health care organizations, ethics committees, long term care facilities, research facilities,
retirement communities, patients, family members, and the lay community. Services include
comprehensive and targeted ethics education, ethics case consultation, ethics performance improvement
initiatives, ethics leadership development, organizational ethics development and guidance, ethics
rounds, policy analysis, research protocol review, and community education and outreach.
SELECT CLIENT LIST
Kaiser Permanente (1993-present)
Ethics Consultant for:
Kaiser Foundation Hospital Oakland-Richmond (2005-present)
Kaiser Foundation Hospital Hayward-Fremont (2006-present)
The Permanente Medical Group Department of Medical Ethics (2004-present)
Consultative support, grand rounds, and off-site retreats for other Northern California facilities
Washington Hospital Healthcare System, Fremont, California (1995-present)
Northern California Presbyterian Homes and Services, Bay Area, California (1996-2007)
John Muir/Mt. Diablo Health System, Walnut Creek and Concord, California (1996-2006)
Sunny View Retirement Community, Cupertino, California (1997-2005)
SRI International, Menlo Park, California (1998-present)
Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, Oakland and Berkeley, California (1998-present)
Elder Care Alliance, Oakland, California (2000-present)
ValleyCare Health System, Pleasanton, California (2001-present)
Hospice of the East Bay (2007-2009)
SELECT PROFESSIONAL SERVICE, AWARDS, AND MEMBERSHIPS
Distinguished Service Award, American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (2009)
Invited Expert Testimony on Medical Futility to The President’s Council on Bioethics
(November 20, 2008) http://www.bioethics.gov/transcripts/november08/session3.html
Co-Chair, American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Clinical Ethics Task Force (2001-2009)
Elected Member, American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Nominating Committee (2001)
Member, American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Program Committee (1999 and 2000)
Member, American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Publication Task Force (1999-present)
Continuous member of The Hastings Center, The Kennedy Institute of Ethics, and the American Society
for Bioethics and Humanities
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SELECT PRIOR EXPERIENCE
PROFESSIONAL
Ethicist Bioethics Consultation Group, Inc. Served as consulting ethicist to all clients of the
Group, including the national Kaiser Permanente System, particularly the 25 medical centers in
California. Responsible for designing and implementing educational ethics programs for hospital and
medical staff, training and supporting the ongoing work of bioethics committees, facilitating bioethics
rounds, analyzing and reviewing policies, and offering clinical case consultation services. (1990-1993)
Bioethics Forum Fellow Administered premiere of the Georgetown University Hospital and
Medical Center "Bioethics Forum." (September 1985-June 1986)
Assistant to Kenneth Vaux, Dr. of Theology, Humanistic Studies Program, The University of
Illinois at Chicago. Served as staff member on the hospital's pediatric bioethics committee. Managed
media calls on newsworthy bioethics cases; assisted in ethics courses for medical, nursing, and pharmacy
students; administered Eleventh Annual Distinguished Lecture Series on Ethics for Health Professionals.
(September 1984-June 1985)
Consultant to Dr. Arthur Kohrman, Director of La Rabida Children's Hospital and Cochairman,
Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago. Served as staff member on the university hospital's
pediatric ethics committee. Arranged state-wide workshop with the Illinois Department of Children and
Family Services and level three tertiary centers to respond to the Federal "Baby Doe" regulations.
Researched ethical issues in technology dependent children. (September 1984-June 1985)
TEACHING
Course Director and Instructor Bay Area Bioethics Survey Course. Developed and taught ten
week course co-sponsored with Catholic Healthcare West for health care professionals in the Bay Area
(September-November 1998)
Lecturer Philosophy Department, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California.
Taught "Ethics in Medicine" class. (Spring 1997)
EDUCATION
Georgetown University/Kennedy Institute of Ethics Ph.D. and M.A. in Philosophy and
Bioethics, 1996 and 1989 respectively; Doctoral Teaching Fellow, Philosophy Department ethics
courses, Georgetown University, September 1986-May 1989; Clinical Internship at Calvary Hospital,
Bronx, New York, 1986.
James Madison College of Michigan State University B.A. with honors, Phi Kappa Phi, 1984;
Dual Majors: Political Philosophy and Socioeconomic Policy Problems; Focus: Bioethics; Clinical
Internships at La Rabida Children's Hospital and Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, 19831984 and the Family Practice and Philosophy Departments of Michigan State University, 1984.
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PUBLICATIONS
BOOKS:
When Doctors Say No: The Battleground of Medical Futility (Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana
University Press, 1998)
Margin of Error: The Ethics of Mistakes in The Practice of Medicine (Frederick, Maryland:
University Publishing Group, 2000), co-edited with Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman.
BOOK CHAPTERS:
"Beyond the Authoritative Voice: Casting a Wide Net in Ethics Consultation," in Stories Matter:
The Role of Narrative in Medical Ethics edited by Rita Charon and Martha Montello (New York:
Routledge Press, 2002): 109-18.
"Managing Care for Seriously and Chronically Ill Children: Case and Commentary," in Ethical
Challenges in Managed Care: A Casebook edited by Karen G. Gervais, Reinhard Priester, Dorothy E.
Vawter, et al. (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1999): 313-20, with Laurie ZolothDorfman.
"Choice of Venue and Provider Under Capitation: Case and Commentary," in Ethical Challenges
in Managed Care: A Casebook edited by Karen G. Gervais, Reinhard Priester, Dorothy E. Vawter, et al.
(Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1999): 138-44, with Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman.
"Ethical Theory," in Forming a Moral Community: A Resource for Healthcare Ethics
Committees (Bioethics Consultation Group, Berkeley California, 1992): 64-91.
ARTICLES:
“Should Your Conscience Be Your Guide?” Ethics Rounds 18 (Summer 2008): 3-12.
“If We Think it’s Futile, Can’t We Just Say No?” HEC Forum 19 (March 2007): 45-65.
“The Tyranny of A Good Death: Whither the Minority View in a World of Dedicated
Palliation?” Ethics Rounds 16 (Spring 2006): 2-4.
“Clinical Ethics and the Road Less Taken: Mapping the Future by Tracking the Present,” Journal
of Law, Medicine, and Ethics 32 (2004): 218-225, with Laurie Zoloth.
"Who Speaks for Vincent? A Case Study Part II," Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation 6 (2000):
64-73.
"Why Futility Policies Are Not the Answer," Western Journal of Medicine 170 (May 1999): 291.
"Insider Trading: Conscience and Critique in Bioethics," HEC Forum 10 (1998), with Laurie
Zoloth-Dorfman.
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"Navigators and Captains: Expertise in Clinical Ethics Consultation," Theoretical
Medicine 18 (1997): 421-32, with Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman.
"Medical Futility: Managed Care and the Powerful New Vocabulary for Clinical
and Public Policy Discourse," Healthcare Forum 42 (March/April 1997): 28-33, with Laurie
Zoloth-Dorfman.
"Why We Can't Just Say No," Decisions Near The End of Life 7 (Newton, MA: Education
Development Center, Inc., 1997): 24-5, with Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman.
"She Said/He Said: Ethics Consultation and the Gendered Discourse," The Journal of Clinical
Ethics 7 (Winter 1996): 321-32, with Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman.
"Healthcare Consolidation Raises Ethical Questions," Modern Healthcare 26 (August 5, 1996):
76, with Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman.
"Managed Care and Ethics," Gilfix Elderlaw NewsAlert (February 1996): 1-14, with Laurie
Zoloth-Dorfman, adapted from Journal of Clinical Ethics article with a focus on elderlaw.
"The Patient as Commodity: Managed Care and the Question of Ethics," The Journal of Clinical
Ethics 6 (Winter 1995): 339-357, with Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman.
"First-Person Plural: Community and Method in Ethics Consultation," The Journal of Clinical
Ethics 5 (Spring 1994): 49-54, with Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman.
"Talking to Patients About Advance Directives: If Not Now, When?" Discharge Planning
Update (a publication of the Society for Hospital Social Work Directors of the American Hospital
Association) 11 (May-June 1991): 3-6.
ACADEMIC PAPERS AND WORKSHOPS
"The Future of Bioethics Consultation: 6th Annual Meeting of the Society for Bioethics
Consultation," Offered Workshop entitled, "Making Moral Community, Finding Moral Location: Using
the Community as Text in the Story," and facilitated a meeting of women who are ethics consultants,
both with my colleague, Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman. (September 10-13, 1992)
"Unity and Diversity in Bioethics Consultation: 7th Annual Meeting of the Society for Bioethics
Consultation," Offered Workshop entitled, "Patient and Family Matters: Hearing Every Voice in the
Consultation Process," with my colleague, Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman. (September 9-12, 1993)
"Conflict and Power in Bioethics Consultation: 8th Annual Meeting of the Society for Bioethics
Consultation," Offered Workshop entitled, "Truth and the Embodied Listener: Power and the
Construction of Reality in Ethics Consultation," with my colleague, Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman. (October 69, 1994)
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"Ethics Consultation: Reflections on Practice 9th Annual Meeting of the Society for Bioethics
Consultation," Offered Workshops entitled "Thirty Years of Schooling and They Put You On the Day
Shift: The Ethicist and the Marketplace," and "Girl Talk: Ethics Consultation and the Gendered
Discourse," both with my colleague, Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman. (September 14-17, 1995)
"Values in Health Care: Diverse Perspectives," 1995 Annual Meeting of the Society for Health
and Human Values, Presented Workshops entitled, "The Eye of the Beholder: The Outcomes Movement,
Health Care Limits, and the Management of Belief," and "Remembrance of Things Past: Recovered
Memory, External Foes, and the Sequential Narrative," also served as member of panel for preconference Workshop entitled, "Funding for Ethics Education and Research," all with my colleague,
Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman. (October 12-15, 1995)
"Health Care, Ethics and Humanities: From Our Roots to Our Shoots," 1996 Joint Annual
Meeting of the Society for Health and Human Values and the Society of Bioethics Consultation,
Presented Workshop entitled, "Dead Wrong: Error in Clinical Ethics Consultation," with my colleague,
Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman. (October 10-13, 1996)
"Visions for Ethics and Humanities in a Changing Healthcare Environment," 1997 Joint Annual
Meeting of the American Association of Bioethics, the Society for Bioethics Consultation, and the
Society for Health and Human Values, Presented Workshop entitled, "Bearing Witness: Epistemology
and Expertise," and Convened and Presented in Panel entitled, "Taking Ourselves to Task: A Session in
Tribute to Benjamin Freedman," both with my colleague, Laurie Zoloth-Dorfman. (November 5-9, 1997)
Second Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, Presented Half
Day Pre-conference Workshop entitled, "The Theory and Practice of Clinical Ethics," and Presented
Workshop entitled, "Buyer's Remorse or Legitimate Surrogate Decision Making?: When an
Untrustworthy Agent Speaks for a Transformed Self," both with my colleague, Laurie Zoloth. Chaired
and Presented in Panel Session entitled, "Margin of Error: The Necessity, Inevitability, and Ethics of
Mistakes in Medicine and Bioethics Consultation." (October 28-31, 1999)
Third Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, Presented Half
Day Pre-conference Workshop entitled, "The Theory and Practice of Clinical Ethics," and Chaired and
Presented in Panel entitled, "Pulling Back the Curtain: Crossing Boundaries Between the Personal and
the Professional," with John Lantos, Martha Montello, and Tod Chambers. (October 26 - 29, 2000)
Thirteenth Annual Conference and Meeting of the Canadian Bioethics Society, Presented Invited
Plenary Address, "Should We Write Ourselves In or Out of the Story?: Exploring the Relationship
Between the Personal and the Professional" (October 12, 2001)
Fourth Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, Presented Half
Day Pre-conference Workshop entitled, "The Theory and Practice of Clinical Ethics." (October 25, 2001)
Joint Meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities and the Canadian Bioethics
Society, Presented Half Day Pre-conference Workshop entitled, "The Theory and Practice of Clinical
Ethics," Chaired and Presented in Panel entitled, “Flesh, Blood, and Information: Challenging the Lethal
Secret of Gamete Donation.” (October 22-26, 2003)
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Sixth Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, Presented Half
Day Pre-conference Workshop entitled, "The Theory and Practice of Clinical Ethics." (October 28, 2004)
Seventh Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, Co-Chaired and
Presented Panel entitled, “Engaging Minority Communities as Equal Partners in Pluralist, Democratic
Bioethics Research, Education and Policy-Making as One “Social Determinant” to Redress Health &
Health Policy Disparities: The Example of Advance Directives and African Americans,”(October 21,
2005)
Eighth Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, Presenting Paper
entitled, “They Tyranny of the Good Death: Whither the Minority View in a World of Dedicated
Palliation,” (October 26, 2006)
Ninth Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, Organized Panel
entitled, “Treatment Refusal or Assisted Suicide?: Withholding or Withdrawing of Life Support in the
Immediate Aftermath of a Failed Suicide,” (October 20, 2007)
Twelfth Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, Presenter and
Discussion Leader in Preconference Session “What’s Law Got to Do With It? Legal Issues in Ethics
Consultation,” (October 21, 2010)
RELEVANT COMMUNITY SERVICE
The Sperm Bank of California Co-President, Board of Directors (1999-2006), Chair, Identity
Release Task Force (1997-2006), Member, Board of Directors (1996-2006)
California Healthcare Foundation/Consumers Union Member, Conference Advisory Panel,
Promoting Health/Protecting Privacy Project (1998)
The California Public Health Foundation and C/NET Solutions Member, Advisory Panel,
Breast Cancer Answers Project (1996)
Whitman Walker AIDS Clinic Washington, D.C. Volunteer "buddy" (1986-1989)
Chicago Area Jewish Hospice Association (1985) and Hospice of Lansing, Michigan (19831984) Direct-care hospice volunteer
Loyola University of Chicago, Lake Shore and Water Tower campuses Member,
Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects (1984-1985)
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