Graduate student Robin Burkhardt publishes on healthcare ethics

Robin Burkhardt, a master’s student in the Medical Ethics and Humanities program at NEOMED, recently published an article in the BENO Bio Quarterly. Her piece, “The Ethics of Workplace Violence in Healthcare: When Professional Duty Conflicts with Personal Safety,” takes a close look at the difficult position many healthcare workers face when their duty to care for patients collides with concerns for their own safety.

In the article, Burkhardt discusses how violence in healthcare settings, from verbal threats to physical assaults, has become an all-too-common reality. She explores the ethical questions that arise when healthcare professionals are expected to provide care despite unsafe conditions, and she highlights the need for systemic reform. Her work emphasizes that protecting the dignity and safety of healthcare workers is not only a legal requirement but a moral obligation that affects the quality of care for patients as well.

This publication grew out of Burkhardt’s coursework in the Medical Ethics and Humanities master’s program at NEOMED. Her accomplishment shows how student research can contribute to urgent conversations happening in healthcare today. By connecting academic study with real-world issues, Burkhardt’s work reflects the program’s mission to prepare students to address complex ethical challenges in medicine and beyond.

Burkhardt, R. The ethics of workplace violence in healthcare: when professional duty conflicts with personal safety. Bio Quarterly. 2025;35(3):7-13.