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Penn Law Students Thriving in Interdisciplinary Health Law Program: See How They Approach Complex Legal Challenges

published April 08, 2023

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( 21 votes, average: 3.9 out of 5)
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Summary

Penn Law School has two students who serve as examples of how interdisciplinary health law courses can benefit students exploring a future in health law. In 2019, Joseph Jacobson and Stacey Wilbur graduated from the School of Law with concentrations in health law and certificates in interdisciplinary health law.


Jacobson and Wilbur took advantage of the unique interdisciplinary health law curriculum offered at the Penn Law School and said the experiential learning within the program gave them both hands-on experience in the field. The two students also took advantage of the many extracurricular opportunities offered, such as the Penn Health Law and Policy Society, the Health Law and Policy Center, and the Intellectual Property Colloquium.

Jacobson, a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, came to Penn Law mainly for the interdisciplinary health law program. He was particularly interested in the unique opportunities offered within the field and the ability to explore diverse areas, such as biotechnology, data privacy, medical devices, FDA regulations, and intellectual property.

With a background in biology, Wilbur was particularly interested in the bioethics and medical research side of health law. She found the interdisciplinary program at Penn Law invaluable to her educational goals, and said it enabled her to pursue her interests in the field.

The interdisciplinary health law program at the Penn Law School provides students with a unique educational experience, allowing them to gain hands-on experience in a variety of fields related to health law. The program helps students gain knowledge beyond the traditional legal curriculum and introduces them to topics such as biotechnology, data privacy, medical devices, FDA regulations, and intellectual property. Joseph Jacobson and Stacey Wilbur serve as examples of the opportunities provided by the program and how it allows students to broaden their education. Through practical experience, the interdisciplinary health law program at Penn Law School helps students gain an understanding of both the law and the implications it has on the ever-evolving health care system.
 

Two University of Pennsylvania Law Students Embody Interdisciplinary Health Law Program

Dara Steinmetz and Alexandra Thierin, two University of Pennsylvania Law School students, have embraced their school's interdisciplinary approach to their Health Law Program. The program provides an opportunity for students to gain an understanding of the legal, ethical and regulatory issues pertaining to the healthcare industry. Through this program, a student can take courses such as bioethics, public health law, health policy, health care law and more.

The University of Pennsylvania Health Law Program is the first and only program of its kind in the country. The course offerings cover a wide range of disciplines and provide students with an understanding of the legal and ethical implications of health law. Students also gain an understanding of the policy issues related to health care and public health. Students enrolled in the program are able to gain an understanding of the regulatory and policy aspects of healthcare and gain a better understanding of how to effectively apply the law to the health care system.

The mission of the University of Pennsylvania Health Law Program is to provide students with the tools to understand and navigate the health care system. The program offers a variety of courses and seminars which provide students with valuable information about the legal, ethical, regulatory and policy issues of the healthcare industry. In addition, the program also provides students with an opportunity to network with health care professionals and gain insight from respected industry experts.

The University of Pennsylvania Health Law Program is committed to providing its students with the knowledge and skills necessary to make an impact in the health care industry. Dara Steinmetz and Alexandra Thierin are two of the many students enrolled in the program who are utilizing the interdisciplinary approach to gain an understanding of the legal and ethical issues of the health care industry. They are taking advantage of the program's course offerings and gaining valuable insight from leading healthcare professionals. Their experience is a testament to the success of the Health Law Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

The University of Pennsylvania's Health Law Program was established in 2004 and is the country's first and only interdisciplinary health law program. The program offers a wide range of courses in legal and ethical aspects of health care, public health law, health policy, and bioethics. Furthermore, the program provides students the opportunity to network with health care professionals and gain insight from industry experts. This program provides students like Dara Steinmetz and Alexandra Thierin with the tools to understand the health care system's legal and ethical issues and make a positive impact in the industry.

Holly Fernandez and Cobin Stoelberg could be said to be in the latter group. Both are second-year law students at the University of Pennsylvania, and both are concentrating in health law—an area of study that, at Penn Law, fosters multitasking.

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Stoelberg has completed two years of medical school at the University of Utah. He has taken a leave of absence before he finishes his third year of med-school classroom work to get a J.D. from Penn Law and a master's degree in bioethics (MBE) as well.

Fernandez turned down Harvard Law to stay at Penn, her undergraduate alma mater, so she could also receive her MBE along with her J.D.

Fernandez and Stoelberg are not unusual at Penn Law, where students can take four elective courses at other parts of the university while in law school. Many who are focusing their study on health law like Fernandez and Stoelberg use these electives towards a joint degree, usually in bioethics, through the Bioethics Center, or in business, through the Wharton School of Business at Penn.

Among other issues, privacy is one legal question that draws Fernandez to bioethics, she says. While fulfilling Penn's pro bono service requirement, Fernandez worked with Dr. Art Kaplan, the head of Penn's Bioethics Center and an expert in the field. She assisted him in his work regarding genetic privacy issues. Her work with Dr. Kaplan led to her writing an article that will be published in the January/February issue of the Hastings Center Report, a leading bioethics journal.

Fernandez's article, ''Genetic Privacy, Abandonment, and DNA Dragnets: Is Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence Adequate?'' examines whether people can have a reasonable expectation of privacy for their own DNA and genetic material and whether material that is left behind can be considered ''abandoned,'' and therefore not private.

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This question is a ''huge problem,'' says Fernandez. Because the issue has not been adjudicated, there is no reason now to expect privacy, and thus legislation would be needed to adequately address the issue, says Fernandez. ''It is impossible to not leave DNA around'' everywhere we go, but without the expectation of genetic privacy, people might end up wanting to walk around in some sort of bubble.

Fernandez applied to the bioethics program when she applied to Penn Law but did not start classes for the MBE until her second year. Many in the program apply during their first year in law school; the MBE takes two years to complete.

Despite some advice to choose Harvard Law, Fernandez says she ''was really happy that I chose Penn in the end.'' Penn Law's integration of degrees and disciplines is ''a really big plus here,'' she adds.

Because she would like to do regulatory work after graduation, this coming summer Fernandez will work at the Washington, DC, firm Hogan & Hartson. Regulatory work is the closest intersection of law and bioethics she would find at a law firm, says Fernandez.

Penn Law ''makes it easy for law students to get their master's,'' says Stoelberg. The bioethics degree is ''a wonderful program.'' Stoelberg was drawn to Penn Law and its joint degree program after discovering Art Kaplan's writing while a philosophy major at the University of Utah. ''Seeing hurdles that doctors face in hospitals'' while in medical school sealed his goals, he says.

Before starting at law school, Stoelberg says he ''did not understand the depth and breadth'' of the field of health law. It is not only healthcare fraud, payer issues, and malpractice lawsuits, but also regulation, intellectual property, and contracts issues, he says.

Doctors, says Stoelberg, confront many bioethical issues in their work, including death/end-of-life care; duty-to-treat issues, physician-assisted suicide; and access to healthcare for the uninsured.

This coming summer, Stoelberg is considering possibly working at the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General or one of the larger Philadelphia law firms. He would like to see what law firm life is like, yet his ultimate plan is to finish his medical degree. ''I am more drawn to practicing medicine,'' he says.


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With his joint degree from Penn, however, Stoelberg will choose a specialty (such as internal medicine or emergency medicine) that also allows him to have the time to help shape national healthcare policy.

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published April 08, 2023

( 21 votes, average: 3.9 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.