"I specialize in bioethics; it’s about values that apply to health care. It goes beyond the golden rule and asks how individual patients want to be treated versus how we want to be treated."
"I grew up in the Philippines and went to graduate school in Norway where I completed my PhD and postdoc. I came to Vancouver in 2011 as a researcher with UBC Centre for Applied Ethics and joined Fraser Health in 2016. I worked for years in academia, but I was curious to see how what I learned would apply to real world health care.
I specialize in bioethics; it’s about values that apply to health care. It goes beyond the golden rule and asks how individual patients want to be treated versus how we want to be treated. The team I work with help staff make decisions that live up to values that staff themselves identify. We call this values-based practice: analyzing what’s important to our patients, their families and health care teams and using that to guide our actions.
I love vinyl records. I’ve collected 200, so far. The best sounding are from the '70s and '80s. I also love DIY. Academic projects can take years, so projects I can do in a day make me happy. I’ve made a table – even a tandem motorized bike. My wife and I bike around Vancouver, we love it."
-- Allen Alvarez, Coordinator, Fraser Health Ethics Services, Central City Office
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