Clinical Ethics Fellow passionate about improving patient care

Maureen Pontarelli, D.Be, describes her career path as a bit unconventional.

The Rochester, New York, native attended college in Rhode Island and graduated in May 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. She then moved to Massachusetts, where she worked as a chemist while pursuing a master’s degree in Catholic clinical ethics. She worked during the daytime and took online classes at night. 

Raised Catholic, Pontarelli had minored in theology and taken a bioethics course in college that she found really intriguing. That led her to study Catholic clinical ethics in graduate school.

“I was engaged from the first class,” she recalls. “I couldn’t fall asleep that night because my mind was still thinking about all the things we discussed in class. I knew then what I wanted to do as a career.”

Clinical Ethics Fellowship at MD Anderson

Pontarelli developed a close relationship with one of her professors. They shared an interest in clinical ethics, which focuses on ethical, social and legal issues in health care. 

“She became a mentor to me,” says Pontarelli. “I was already following a similar career path, so she recommended I get a doctoral degree and then complete a fellowship. She had done the same.”

Pontarelli took her advice. She earned a doctorate in bioethics and then applied for a Clinical Ethics Fellowship at MD Anderson. It was the same fellowship her mentor had completed years earlier.

Pontarelli was accepted into the program, so she and her boyfriend moved to Houston. Being from the East Coast, they had to adjust to the heat. But she loves the southern hospitality everyone displays in Houston. Pontarelli is now in her first year as a fellow, and she is focused on gaining valuable experience as a trainee. 

The value of mentorship

At MD Anderson, Pontarelli quickly found another mentor in Gavin Enck, Ph.D., director of the Clinical Ethics Fellowship. She attends ICU rounds with Enck four days a week and is helping him with a project to make clinical ethics documentation and data collection more efficient.

“Maureen is an exceptional fellow,” says Enck. “While she has been pivotal and immensely helpful with my project, it’s her dedication to addressing the needs of patients, families and providers that makes her exceptional.” 

After working independently as a chemist, Pontarelli had to adjust to the collaborative environment of clinical ethics. Enck helped make that transition easier.

“We have the same thought processes on a lot of things because we’re both very analytical and detail-oriented,” says Pontarelli. “He’s really showed me the ins and outs of clinical ethics in hospital systems – things you can’t learn from a textbook. The whole purpose of a fellowship is to get hands-on experience, and I’m grateful I’m able to do that.”

At Enck’s encouragement, Pontarelli also became certified in pediatric and neonatal bereavement. She learned valuable lessons on how to communicate with and be supportive of families during times of loss. She plans to use these tools to help patients and families at MD Anderson.

Gaining knowledge

Pontarelli continues to explore her interests. Concurrent with her fellowship, she is writing papers on ethics issues concerning women’s health, such as the inclusion of pregnant women in clinical research and the use and ethics of birth plan-like documents for women in labor. She is also writing about ethical misconduct of health care providers in South Africa.

Pontarelli is of childbearing age, so women’s health is a topic near and dear to her heart.

She and the ethics interns at MD Anderson were introduced to the issues within South Africa’s health care systems by Executive Director for the Center of Clinical Ethics in Cancer Care Nico Nortjé, Ph.D., who is from South Africa.

Pontarelli has taken on a mentorship role with the interns. Together, they are looking at public data about fines and penalties for different medical professions in South Africa. Their goal is to emphasize that education about clinical ethics could help reduce some of these ethical transgressions.

Making an impact at MD Anderson

Pontarelli describes a clinical ethicist’s role as being the liaison between a patient and their care team: a neutral party that helps communicate and manage any ethical issues that may arise. 

“I think a lot of times clinical ethicists are seen as firefighters that come in at the last minute,” she says. “It’s really important that we take on a more preventive role.”

Pontarelli is hoping to use data from the project she’s working on with Enck to implement preventive ethics at MD Anderson.

“This might mean increasing our footprint on certain floors, reducing patients’ length of stay or initiating conversations with patients and families about advance care planning earlier and following up more often,” she says.

Pontarelli, who is 26, used to fear her age would hinder her in her career.

“Many lawyers, risk managers and retired physicians become clinical ethicists, and I didn’t have as much life experience and insight as them,” she says. “But now I see it as somewhat of an advantage coming straight from graduate school and my fellowship into clinical ethics. My ethical lens doesn’t have time to develop any type of bias.”

She’s excited about the work MD Anderson is doing in the field of clinical ethics, as well as what’s to come.

“MD Anderson has expansive resources as well as a great reputation and legacy in health care,” she says. “Everyone here wants to help patients and make a better world overall. I’m excited to be a part of that.”

Learn about education and training opportunities at MD Anderson.