• 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:
    • "Converging Roads is a refreshingly unique kind of medical conference. It offers a wealth of information about how health care is called to serve within the context of the faith, and it provides a break from the burden of secular humanism that has overcome mainstream medical practices. I have participated in three Converging Roads conferences and I continue to be more impressed with each successive conference!"

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, April 11, as well as additional access to the recordings (from noon CT on Sunday, April 12, to 11:59 pm CT on Wednesday, April 15).
 
  • 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, March 27. All refund requests made on or after March 28 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

    • Conscience, Moral Cooperation, and Human Flourishing
  • Matthew Shea, PhD
  •  
  • The Primacy of Virtue and Navigating Moral Cooperation in Medicine
  • Matthew Shea, PhD; and more
  •  
  • Restorative Reproductive Medicine and the Flourishing of the Person
  • Tracey Parnell, MD, MRM, CCFP
  •  
  • Dr. Jérôme Lejeune: A Model of Integrating the Spiritual Life
  • Pilar Calva, MD
  •  
  • Technology and the Mental Health Crisis
  • Anthony Isacco, PhD
  •  
  • The Benefits and Ethical Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Health Care
  • Mariele Courtois, PhD

SCHEDULE

 
7:30 AM
 Check-In Begins
8:00 AM
  • Mass
9:15 AM
 Opening Remarks
9:25 - 10:25 AM
  • Conscience, Moral Cooperation, and Human Flourishing
 
10:25 - 10:35 AM
 Break
10:35 - 11:35 AM
  • The Primacy of Virtue and Navigating Moral Cooperation in Medicine
 
11:35 - 11:45 AM
 Break
11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
  • Restorative Reproductive Medicine and the Flourishing of the Person
 
12:45 - 2:35 PM
 Hippocratic Oath Luncheon  
1:30 - 2:30 PM
  • Dr. Jérôme Lejeune: A Model of Integrating the Spiritual Life
 
2:35 - 2:55 PM
 Break  
2:55 - 3:55 PM
  • Technology and the Mental Health Crisis
 
3:55 - 4:05 PM
 Break  
4:05 - 5:05 PM
  • The Benefits and Ethical Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Health Care
 
5:05 - 5:15 PM
 Closing Comments
5:15 - 6:00 PM
 Wine and Cheese Reception

Speakers

ANTHONY ISACCO, PhD
Fellow, St. John Paul II Foundation

Anthony Isacco, PhD, a Fellow for St. John Paul II Foundation, is program director, professor, and head of clinical research in the MS in Clinical Psychology Program at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota. He is a licensed psychologist and is the principal of Puritan Psychological Services, a  small private practice focused on helping clergy, seminarians, and women religious live healthy, holy, and happy lives in their vocations.  Dr. Isacco is a generalist, with areas of expertise in the psychology of men and masculinity, clergy mental health, fatherhood, psychological assessment, and religious/spiritual integration in psychology. He sits on the Advisory Board of Saint Paul Seminary, Diocese of Pittsburgh and the Formation Team of Saint Cyril and Methodius Byzantine Seminary, Eparchy of Pittsburgh. He is a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville (BA), Boston College (MA), and Loyola University of Chicago (PhD). Dr. Isacco lives in Pittsburgh, PA with his wife and four daughters.

MARIELE COURTOIS, PHD
Director, Center for Technology and Human Dignity, Benedictine College

Mariele Courtois, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Moral Theology and Director of the Center for Technology and Human Dignity at Benedictine College. She earned her Ph.D. with distinction from the Catholic University of America and writes on technology and healthcare ethics. She is a member of the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education’s AI Research Group and a contributing author of their book Encountering Artificial Intelligence. She is a Fellow for the USC’s Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies Generations in Dialogue Program on medical ethics and transhumanism and a member of the International Association for the Study of the Philosophy of Edith Stein. She is currently working on a manuscript that draws from Edith Stein’s work on individuality for addressing genetic engineering ethics at the beginning of life.

MATTHEW SHEA, PHD
Assistant Professor, Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine

Matthew Shea, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Medical Ethics at Baylor College of Medicine and a practicing Clinical Ethicist at Houston Methodist Hospital. He received a PhD in philosophy from Saint Louis University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical ethics at the UCLA Health Ethics Center. He specializes in moral philosophy and bioethics, and his current research focuses on the philosophical foundations of bioethics and ethical issues related to vulnerable patient populations.

SPONSORS

Venue

St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church

1801 Sage Road
Houston, TX 77056

For More Information:
Nancy Ariza, 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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