AIG Learning Center
From Individual Autonomy to Relational Responsibility: Ethical Foundations of Surrogate Decision-Making (On-Demand)
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Register
- Individual - $45
- Sisters Aging Well Together - $35
- AIG Staff - Free!
- AIG Faculty - Free!
Webinar Description
This presentation examines the conceptual foundations and clinical implications of patient autonomy in situations where individuals lack decisional capacity. It critically analyzes the evolution of autonomy from an individualistic, rights-based construct to a more contextually embedded, relational understanding. Particular attention is given to the ethical role of the surrogate decision-maker: the moral standards that should guide surrogate judgment (substituted judgment, best interests), and the question of who constitutes the most appropriate surrogate, not merely in legal terms, but in light of knowledge of the patient’s values, narrative identity, and lived commitments.
The session further distinguishes ethical authority from legal designation, exploring areas of convergence and tension between statutory hierarchies and moral legitimacy. Finally, it argues that surrogate decision-making is best understood within a framework of relational ethics, where autonomy is not exercised in isolation but is shaped, supported, and interpreted within networks of care, trust, and responsibility.
Learning Outcomes
Participants will be able to:
- Identify a framework of relational ethics.
- Distinguish ethical authority from legal designation.
- Apply an ethical role as a surrogate decisionmaker.
Board Approvals
Administrators (NAB)
This program has been approved for Continuing Education for 1.0 total participant hours by NAB/NCERS—Approval #20270623-1-A122984-DL.
New York State Social Workers
Avila Institute of Gerontology, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0265. Participants can earn 1.0 Contact Hours. Social Worker CE approval is for New York State Social workers only. Other state licensees are not eligible to receive pre-approved credit.
REMINDER: Some Boards/States do not accept Clock Hours for on-demand recordings or limit the amount of Continuing Education Units from on-demand recordings. Please check with your State concerning its requirements.
More Information
If you have any questions or concerns about this program, please contact us at support@avilainstitute.org.
Registrants seeking continuing education will be asked to watch the On-Demand Recording in full, pass a post-test, and submit an evaluation form.
- Administrators (NAB): This program has been approved for Continuing Education for 1.0 total participant hours by NAB/NCERS—Approval #20270623-1-A122984-DL.
- New York State Social Workers: Avila Institute of Gerontology, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0265. Participants can earn 1.0 Contact Hours. Social Worker CE approval is for New York State Social workers only. Other state licensees are not eligible to receive pre-approved credit.
REMINDER: Some Boards/States do not accept Clock Hours for on-demand recordings or limit the amount of Continuing Education Units from on-demand recordings. Please check with your State concerning its requirements.
Claudia Ruiz Sotomayor, MD, DBe, HEC-C
Chief of the Ethics Consultation Service, Frederick and Angela Belli Chair for Clinical Bioethics, Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics, Associate Professor of Medicine.
Georgetown University Medical Center
Dr. Claudia R. Sotomayor serves as the Chief of the Clinical Ethics Consultation Service at the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics and is an Associate Professor of Medicine on the Medical Educator Track at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC). As Chief, she is responsible for overseeing the service's operations, leading a team of ethics consultants, managing the consultation database, and guaranteeing the quality and effectiveness of the ethics consultation program. She earned her Medical Degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua in Mexico, a Master’s Degree in Bioethics from Anáhuac University, and a Doctorate in Bioethics from Loyola University Chicago. She also completed a clinical bioethics fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.