• 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:
    • "I’m so glad I attended. It was so insightful and gave me more knowledge on how to study more about human dignity, disabled persons and the correct way to explain our duty to others (as health care providers to our patients)."
    • "It is edifying to be with so many people trying to live their faith in a field that constantly challenges the truth."
    • "Thus far in my (nascent) career, my Catholic and medical identities have unfortunately been largely separate. I’m confident that the knowledge I obtained at Converging Roads and my subsequent reflection will serve me well on my path towards becoming the Catholic physician I’m striving to be."
     

REGISTRATION

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT


In-Person Ticket Options:
  • Physicians/Physician Assistants: $159
  • Nurses/Nurse Practitioners: $139
  • General Admission*: $85
  • Medical residents, clergy, or religious*: $75
  • Student Scholarship Rate**: $15
Online Ticket Options:
  • Online tickets include access to the livestream on Saturday, November 16, as well as additional access to the recordings (from noon ET on Sunday, November 17, to 11:59 pm ET on Wednesday, November 20).
 
  • Physicians/Physician Assistants: $129
  • Nurses/Nurse Practitioners: $109
  • General Admission*: $55
  • Medical residents, clergy, or religious*: $45
  • 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): $180
  • Ministry/Non-Profit (not including CME/CNE credits)*: $105
  • Vendor/For-Profit (including CME/CNE credits): $230
  • Vendor/For-Profit (not including CME/CNE credits)*: $155
 
  • *Not eligible for CME/CNE credits, however, Chaplain certificates of completion can be requested upon registration for continuing education purposes.

Sponsors:
  • If you and/or your organization is interested in joining our mission as a supporting sponsor, please click here for the Sponsorship Form. You can also submit the form online by clicking here.
 
  • For questions or more information, please contact the conference coordinator at [email protected].

Student Scholarships:
  • Undergraduate, graduate, nursing, and medical students are eligible to register for Converging Roads at the discounted rate above through the Dr. Mini Vettical Scholarship. 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 are interested in providing a scholarship for a student to attend Converging Roads, you can do so at the time of registration or by clicking here.

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, November 1. All refund requests made on or after November 2 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.

TOPICS

  • The Full Flourishing of the Human Person within Medicine
  • Michael J. Deem, PhD
  •  
  • The Vocation of the Health Care Professional
  • Gwyneth Anne Spaeder, MD
  •  
  • The Social Determinants of Health
  • Claudia R. Sotomayor, MD, Dbe
  •  
  • Practicing the Spiritual Life in a Secular Culture
  • Kristin M. Collier, MD, FACP; Anthony Isacco, Phd; and Gwyneth Anne Spaeder, MD
  •  
  • Restorative Reproductive Medicine
  • Faculty TBA
  •  
  • The Science Behind Fertility Awareness Based Methods
  • Marguerite Duane, MD, MHA, MSPH, FAAFP
  •  
  • The Role of Spirituality in Health Care
  • Kristin M. Collier, MD, FACP
  •  

SCHEDULE

8:00 AM
  • Mass
8:00 AM
Check-In Begins
9:15 AM
Opening Remarks
9:25 - 10:25 AM
The Full Flourishing of the Human Person within Medicine
10:30 - 11:30 AM
The Vocation of the Health Care Professional
11:30 AM
Break
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
The Social Determinants of Health
12:45 - 2:25 PM
Hippocratic Oath Luncheon
1:20 -2:20 PM
Practicing the Spiritual Life in a Secular Culture
2:25 PM
Break
2:45 - 3:45 PM
Restorative Reproductive Medicine
3:50 - 4:50 PM
The Science behind Fertility Awareness Based Methods
4:50 PM
Break
5:00 - 6:00 PM
The Role of Spirituality in Health Care
6:05 - 6:45 PM
Wine & Cheese Reception

Speakers

CLAUDIA R. SOTOMAYOR, MD, DBe
Chief of the Ethics Consultation Service MGUH and Assistant Professor at the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics

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.

MARGUERITE DUANE, MD, MHA, FAAFP
Co-Founder and Executive Director, FACTS

Dr. Marguerite Duane, a board-certified family physician, is co-founder and Executive Director of FACTS about Fertility, an organization dedicated to educating medical professionals and students about the scientific evidence supporting fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs). She also serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Georgetown and Duquesne University. Dr. Duane cares for patients via a direct primary care house-calls based practice, MD for Life, and previously worked as medical director of the Catholic Charities community health centers in DC and Maryland. Dr. Duane currently serves as the CMA State Director for DC, and is the past president of the St. Giuseppe Moscatti DC CMA Guild. She has served on the board of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and the Family Medicine Education Consortium (FMEC). Dr. Duane trained as a Creighton, FEMM and NeoFertility Medical consultant, and a TeenSTAR educator. She received her M.D. degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and completed her Family Medicine residency at Lancaster General Hospital in Pennsylvania. She received a Bachelor of Science with Honors and a Master of Health Administration degree from Cornell University. In 2022, Dr. Duane completed a primary care research fellowship at the University of Utah earning a Master of Science in Public Health. Dr. Duane is married to fellow family physician, Dr. Kenneth Lin, and they are delighted to be the parents of 4 children, Isaac Thomas, Eden Rose, Ellis John and Gianna Marie Lin.

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.

KRISTIN M. COLLIER, MD, FACP
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Director of the University of Michigan Medical School Program on Health, Spirituality and Religion

Kristin M. Collier, MD, FACP is an associate professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor Michigan where she serves as the director of the University of Michigan Medical School Program on Health, Spirituality and Religion. She is also an associate program director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at the University of Michigan where she oversees the primary care track. She received her medical degree from the University of Michigan Medical School and completed her internship, residency, and chief residency at The University of Michigan Hospitals. Her academic interests are in the overlap of spirituality, religion and medicine and her peer reviewed work has been published in high-impact journals such as JAMA Internal Medicine, the Annals of Internal Medicine, and the British Medical Journal. She also has had writings published in Notre Dame’s Church Life Journal, Theopolis, America Magazine, and Public Discourse. She is also a wife and the proud mother of four sons.

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.

ANTHONY ISACCO, PhD
Professor, Director of Training for PsyD Program, Chatham University

Anthony Isacco, PhD, is a professor of Graduate Psychology at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA and Director of Training for the PsyD in Counseling Psychology program. He is a licensed psychologist in PA and authorized to provide telepsychology services in approximately 40 states.  He maintains a small private practice with a niche focus on the psychological assessment of clergy candidates to the Catholic Church.  Dr. Isacco has published widely through his books, popular press articles, and academic journals on the psychological health of seminarians, fatherhood, and the psychology of men and masculinity. He sits on the Advisory Board of Saint Paul Seminary, Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh and the Formation Team of Saint Cyril and Methodius Seminary, Pittsburgh Byzantine Eparchy, and Catholic Psychotherapy Association Board of Directors. He is a proud graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville (BA, '02), Boston College (MA, '04), and Loyola University Chicago (PhD, '09).  He is married to Celeste and has four daughters, Sophia, Claire, Gianna, and Monica.

MOST REV. DAVID A. ZUBIK

Bishop David A. Zubik was ordained a priest on May 3, 1975, by Bishop Vincent M. Leonard at Saint Paul Cathedral, Pittsburgh.  Following Bishop Zubik’s first priestly assignment as Parochial Vicar of Sacred Heart Parish, Shadyside, he served as Vice Principal of Quigley Catholic High School, Baden, and Chaplain to the Sisters of Saint Joseph Motherhouse and the students at Mount Gallitzin Academy.  At the same time, he earned a master’s degree in education administration from Duquesne University.  He also served as adjunct spiritual director at Saint Paul Seminary and associate spiritual director at Saint Vincent Seminary, Latrobe.  His administrative appointments in diocesan central administration have included Administrative Secretary to then-Pittsburgh Bishop Anthony J. Bevilacqua, Administrative Secretary and Master of Ceremonies to then-Pittsburgh Bishop Donald W. Wuerl, Director of Clergy Personnel, Associate General Secretary and Chancellor, and Vicar General and General Secretary. Bishop Zubik was consecrated a bishop on April 6, 1997, at Saint Paul Cathedral and was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. On October 10, 2003, the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, named the Most Reverend David A. Zubik as the Eleventh Bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay.  Bishop Zubik was installed as Bishop on December 12, 2003. On July 18, 2007, he was named by Pope Benedict XVI as the Twelfth Bishop of Pittsburgh.  He was installed at Saint Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh on September 28, 2007.

SPONSORS

CONTINUING EDUCATION

Accreditation Statement
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 Paul 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 7 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits(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 7 credits for completing this activity.

Nurse Practitioner
The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP) accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ from organizations accredited by the ACCME. Individuals are responsible for checking with the AANPCP for further guidelines. Nurse practitioners may receive up to 7 credits for completing this activity.

Click here for full CME/CNE details

 


Chaplains
The National Association of Catholic Chaplains has approved this program for 7.25 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. 

Venue

Diocesan Pastoral Center

2900 Noblestown Rd
Pittsburgh, PA 15205

For More Information:
Jessie Sonnen, Conference Coordinator
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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