• FOR LIFE AND FAMILY

about Converging Roads

Where Health Care Ethics and Medicine Converge
Converging Roads is a regional conference series offering continuing education for health care professionals that equips them to practice the highest ethical and medical standards of their profession. To learn more about Converging Roads, click here.
  • Feedback from past attendees of Converging Roads:
  • "Speakers were knowledgeable and clear, communicated complex material in a way that was easy to understand, and were non biased."
  • "This conference far exceeded my expectations. I attended simply  because I thought it might be a networking opportunity with local Catholics. The talks were all excellent. It gave me real insight into integrating my Catholic faith with my secular life."
  • "Very organized conference with thought provoking topics."

REGISTRATION

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED

FOR SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT


In-Person Ticket Options:
  • Physicians/Physician Assistants: $149
  • Nurses/Nurse Practitioners: $129
  • General Admission*: $79
  • Medical residents, clergy, or religious*: $69
  • Student Scholarship Rate**: $15
Online Ticket Options:
  • Online tickets include access to the livestream on Saturday, February 12, 2022, as well as additional access to the recordings from noon PT on Sunday, February 13, to 11:59 pm PT on Wednesday, February 16.
  • Physicians/Physician Assistants: $119
  • Nurses/Nurse Practitioners: $99
  • General Admission*: $49
  • Medical residents, clergy, or religious*: $39
  • Student Scholarship Rate**: $0
 
  • *Not eligible for CME/CNE credits, however, Chaplain certificates of completion can be requested upon registration for continuing education purposes.
  • **Not eligible for CME/CNE credits.

Exhibitor Opportunities:
Includes 1 exhibitor booth and admission for 1 organizational representative
  • Ministry/Non-Profit (including CME/CNE credits): $170
  • Ministry/Non-Profit (not including CME/CNE credits)*: $100
  • Vendor/For-Profit (including CME/CNE credits): $220
  • Vendor/For-Profit (not including CME/CNE credits)*: $150
 
  • *Not eligible for CME/CNE credits, however, Chaplain certificates of completion can be requested upon registration for continuing education purposes.

Student Scholarships:
  • Undergraduate, graduate, nursing, and medical students are eligible to register for Converging Roads at our scholarship admission rate. If you are a student currently enrolled in classes and would like to attend the conference, please complete our student scholarship form prior to registering for the conference (click here). If you feel called to contribute to our scholarship fund, you can do so at the time of registration.

Refund Information:
    • If you are no longer able to attend the conference, after purchasing your ticket, you may choose to transfer your registration fees to a student in need, or request a refund.
    • All refunds must be requested 2 weeks prior to the conference. The last day to request a refund is Friday, January 28. All refund requests made on or after January 29 will not be accepted, but the funds will automatically be transferred to a student in need. Please email [email protected] to transfer your registration or request a refund.

Health and Safety Guidelines:
  • - Masks will be required for indoor conference activities, excluding meals.
  • - Meals will take place in a separate space from where the conference presentations will be given. Should weather permit, outdoor seating areas will be available for participants should they choose to to take their meals outside.
  • - Adequate distancing (3') between participants will be maintained in the space where the conference presentations will be given.

TOPICS

  • Vaccines: Moral Obligations, Prudential Judgments, Personal Responsibility, and the Common Good
  • Michael J. Deem, PhD
  •  
  • Can Moral Medicine Be Practiced in a Secular Health Care System?
  • Michel Accad, MD
  •  
  • Gender Dysphoria in Children and Adults: Science, Ideology, and Ethics
  • Paul Hruz, MD, PhD
  •  
  • End of Life Care and Allocation of Resources
  • Claudia R. Sotomayor, MD, DBe
  •  
  • The Mental Health Crisis for Children and Adolescents
  • Cynthia Hunt, MD; and Gwyneth Anne Spaeder, MD
  •  
  • New Challenges Post-Pandemic: Health of Health Care Professionals
  • Maricela P. Moffitt, MD, MPH, FACP
  •  

SCHEDULE

       
7:30 AM
  • Check-In Begins
8:15 AM
Opening Remarks
8:25 - 9:25 AM
Can Moral Medicine Be Practiced in a Secular Health Care System?
9:30 - 10:30 AM
New Challenges Post-Pandemic: Health of Health Care Professionals
10:30 AM
Break
10:45 - 11:45 AM
The Mental Health Crisis for Children and Adolescents
12:00 - 12:40 PM
Mass
  • Celebrated by Most Rev. Salvatore J. Cordileone
12:45 - 2:30 PM
Hippocratic Oath Luncheon
1:25 -2:25 PM
End of Life Care and Allocation of Resources
2:30 PM
Break
2:50 - 3:50 PM
Vaccines: Moral Obligations, Prudential Judgments, Personal Responsibility, and the Common Good
3:50 PM
Break
4:00 - 5:00 PM
Gender Dysphoria in Children and Adults: Science, Ideology, and Ethics
5:00 PM
Closing Remarks
5:10 - 6:00 PM
Wine & Cheese Reception

Speakers

MOST REV. SALVATORE J. CORDILEONE
Archbishop of San Francisco

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone was born in San Diego on June 5, 1956. He attended public school through 12th grade and earned his BA in philosophy from the University of San Diego in 1978.  He earned a second bachelor’s degree in sacred theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1981.  Archbishop Cordileone was ordained to the priesthood on July 9, 1982.  He continued his studies at Gregorian University from 1985-89, earning a doctorate in canon law.   He was appointed Judicial Vicar for the Diocese of San Diego in 1990 and served as an assistant to the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura from 1995-2002.  On July 5, 2002, Pope John Paul II appointed him the Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of San Diego, where he served until his appointment as Bishop of Oakland on March 23, 2009. On July 27, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as the ninth Archbishop of San Francisco.  He was installed on October 4, 2012.   Archbishop Cordileone chairs the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage and sits on the Committee for Canonical Affairs.  He is a member of the Governing Board of the International Theological Institute and the Subcommission on the Liturgy for the Anglican Ordinariates.

PAUL W. HRUZ, MD, PhD
Professor of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine

Paul W. Hruz is Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Professor of Cellular Biology and Physiology at Washington University in St. Louis. Hruz received his Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry from Marquette University in 1987. As a member of the Medical Scientist Training Program at the Medical College of Wisconsin, he received his Ph.D. Degree in Biochemistry in 1993 and M.D. Degree in 1994. He completed Residency training in Pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle and a Pediatric Endocrinology fellowship at Washington University.  Hruz served at the Chief of the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes at Washington University from 2012-2017.  He is a member of the University's Disorders of Sexual Development (DSD) Multidisciplinary Care Program. Hruz is board certified in Pediatrics and Pediatric Endocrinology. He has also received certification in Healthcare Ethics from the National Catholic Bioethics Center.  He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts, scientific reviews and book chapters.

CYNTHIA HUNT, MD
Psychiatrist and Chair of Catholic Medical Association National Opioid Task Force

Dr. Cynthia Hunt is a graduate of Loyola Stritch School of Medicine and Board Certified practitioner in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry, which includes a year of fellowship training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.  She currently maintains an active practice at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, where she is the Chief of the Department of Psychiatry.   She is also an Adjunct Faculty Member of St. Patrick’s Archdiocesan Seminary in Menlo Park, CA . She has been privileged to serve the Catholic Church over the last 12 years in the Exorcism and Deliverance ministry as psychiatric consultant to priests, exorcists and Bishops and is on the Advisory Board for the Pope Leo XIII Institute.   She has been invited to give presentations on this topic in many settings including Priest/ Clergy Days,  Deaconate Training, National Meetings of the Catholic Medical Association  and the Catholic Psychotherapy Association as well as  conferences with laity and SCRC. Dr. Hunt  has also worked within  the Catholic Medical Association for many years and has served as President of the Fresno Guild,   member of the FIRE Committee, and as a speaker for CMA national and local conferences.   She is currently a CMA Board Member and is Chair of the national CMA Opioid Task Force,  meeting with Health and Human Services in Washington, DC.   Recently she participated in  representing  North America at an International Meeting on Addictions at the Vatican through the Dicastery of Integral Human Development. An accomplished pianist, Lay Carmelite,  and member of the Board of the Foundation of Prayer for Priests,  she has been blessed with her husband of 27 years and their three children.

MARICELA P. MOFFITT, MD, MPH, FACP
Professor of Internal Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix

Maricela P. Moffitt, MD, MPH, FACP graduated from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston in 1986. She is Board certified in Internal Medicine and has practice Medicine for 28 years in Arizona. She obtained a Masters degree in Public Health in 1994 at the University of Arizona. Her research interest include Tuberculosis and medical education. She is currently holds the academic rank of Professor of Medicine and serves as the Director of the Doctoring Curriculum at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix where she teaches communication and physical exam skills to medical students. She is a part-time Hospitalist at the VA Hospital in Phoenix. She has served on the 1st Way (a crisis pregnancy center) Board of Directors; The HOPE Mobile Ultrasound Unit Board; The national Catholic Medical Association Board (President 2012) and current Board member. She currently serves on the Phoenix Diocesan Medical Ethics Board, the Catholic Medical Association Phoenix Board and Livanta LLC Board (Healthcare Quality Improvement). She teaches with her husband in the RCIA program at Corpus Christi parish. She is married to Dr. Robert A. Moffitt. They have three adult children.

CLAUDIA R. SOTOMAYOR, MD, DBe
Clinical Ethicist and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Georgetown University

Dr. Claudia Sotomayor, is the Chief of the Clinical Consultation Service of the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics, a Cura Personalis Fellow and an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine of GUMC. She holds an M.D. from Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua, in Chihuahua, Mexico and a Doctorate in Bioethics from Loyola University in Chicago Il, USA. Claudia also completed a fellowship in Clinical Bioethics at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston TX. (USA). She has been a Research Scholar for UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights since 2012 where she has worked in the area of Multiculturalism, Bioethics and Religion. She has also served as a member of the Ethics committee in different hospitals in the USA. Before coming to the USA, she worked in different hospitals in Mexico as a primary care physician, and was the health committee coordinator for FUNDESPEN, a non-profit that provides medical care to Mayan communities in rural areas of Quintana Roo, Mexico.

MICHAEL J. DEEM, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Human Genetics, Core Faculty, Center for Bioethics and Health Law, Director, Consortium Ethics Program, University of Pittsburgh

Michael J. Deem, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Genetics and Core Faculty in the Center for Bioethics & Health Law at the University of Pittsburgh, and serves as the Director of the University’s Consortium Ethics Program, which provides continuing ethics education to health care professionals in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. He is also a Resident Fellow of the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh, subject faculty for the Children’s Mercy Hospital Pediatric Ethics Certificate Program, a member of the Hospital Ethics Committee at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and a member of the Modern Fertility Care Collaborative. Dr. Deem received his Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame and completed the Pediatric Ethics and Genomic Fellowship at Children’s Mercy Hospital. He is the author of more than 20 scholarly articles and book chapters on philosophy of science, bioethics, ethical theory, and empirical health research. He is currently completing a monograph for Cambridge University Press on fundamental concepts in genomic medicine, and is co-editing the Oxford University of Handbook of Genetic Counseling and Nursing Ethics: Normative Foundations, Advanced Concepts, and Emerging Issues for Oxford University Press. Dr. Deem lives outside Pittsburgh with his wife, Katerina, and their five children. He is a candidate in the Deacon Formation Program of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh and works in shipping and quality control for Katerina’s Catholic company, Little Way Design Co.

MICHEL ACCAD, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

Dr. Accad practices cardiology and internal medicine in San Francisco. He holds a certificate in bioethics with distinction from the National Catholic Bioethics Center. He is the author of Moving Mountains: A Socratic Challenge to the Theory and Practice of Population Medicine. He has written numerous articles and editorials for medical and philosophical journals, including the Linacre Quarterly, The Thomist, BMJ, and the American Journal of Cardiology. He hosts the blog Alert and Oriented and co-hosts the podcast The Accad and Koka Report. He is a member of the St. Elias Melkite Church in San Jose, California. He is married and has 2 children.

GWYNETH ANNE SPAEDER, MD
Pediatrician

Gwyneth Anne Spaeder, MD, attended the University of Dallas where she graduated with a degree in Political Philosophy. She then attended The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, graduating in 2005. She is a Board-Certified Pediatrician and has practiced in both community ER and private practice settings. She completed a certificate in Health Care Ethics through the National Catholic Bioethics Center in 2015 and has published several articles pertaining to vaccine ethics. She also served as the guest editor for a NCBC Quarterly edition focused on Pediatric-specific issues. She is a recurrent presenter at Theology of the Body workshops for teens and for NFP/Marriage prep within the Diocese of Raleigh. She is a member of the Catholic Medical Association Triangle Guild. She lives in Wake Forest, NC with her husband and three children.

SPONSORS

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Accreditation

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA) and St John Paull II Foundation. Christian Medical & Dental Associations is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Physician Credit

The Christian Medical & Dental Associations designates this educational activity for a maximum of 6 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s). Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Physician Assistant

AAPA accepts certificates of participation for educational activities certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s) by an organization accredited by the ACCME or a recognized state medical society. Physician assistants may receive up to 6 credits for completing this activity.

Nurse Practitioner

The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP) accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s) from organizations accredited by the ACCME. Individuals are responsible for checking with the AANPCP for further guidelines. Nurse practitioners may receive up to 6 credits for completing this activity.

Nursing

This educational activity has been submitted to the Ohio Nurses Association (ONA), an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation (OBN-001-91). 6 contact hours approved.

 


Chaplains

The National Association of Catholic Chaplains has approved this program for 6.25 Continuing Education Hours. Please select the General Admission or Clergy/Religious (if applicable) ticket option and request a certificate of completion on your registration form. For questions, please email [email protected]

Venue

St. Patrick's Seminary & University

320 MIddlefield Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025

For More Information:
Susie Lopez, Director of Conference Events
832.779.1070
[email protected]

CONTACT US

  • PHONE

    832.779.1070

  • PHYSICAL ADDRESS

    1177 W Loop South, Ste. 940
    Houston, TX 77027

  • MAILING ADDRESS

    P.O. Box 5927
    Katy, TX 77491

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