Tyler Tate, MD, MA

Tyler Tate is Clinical Associate Professor in Stanford University’s Department of Pediatrics in the new Division of Quality of Life and Pediatric Palliative Care as well as core faculty in the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics (SCBE). Dr. Tate’s prior research in bioethics has revolved around three key areas: the ethical nature of the patient-clinician relationship; the normative structure and role of metaphor in health communication; and the relationship among suffering, flourishing, health, and disability. An overarching aim of his academic work is to articulate the normative conditions for just and compassionate health care for people with physical and intellectual disabilities, especially within the palliative and end-of-life context. Previously, Dr. Tate served as an associate director of the OHSU Center for Ethics in Health Care and founding director of the Oregon Bioethics and Humanities Colloquium speaker series. Dr. Tate studied biology and philosophy at Maryville University of St. Louis and earned his M.D. at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine, Birmingham AL. He completed residency in pediatrics, M.A. in bioethics, and fellowship in clinical ethics at the University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Hospital, as well as fellowship in palliative care at Duke University. He is a 2024 Hastings Center Cunniff-Dixon Early-Career Physician Award recipient.

Understanding and navigating claims of child suffering in pediatric ethics and practice

One of the major challenges of pediatric medicine and pediatric ethics is navigating secondhand claims of suffering, which are claims of perceived suffering made on the behalf of sick children who cannot speak for themselves. These claims often result in significant action, like the discontinuation of life-sustaining therapies. However, despite their influence, the meaning, validity, and value of these claims is frequently unclear. To address these challenges, Dr. Tate’s project will seek to accomplish two tasks: first, develop a novel theory of pediatric suffering; second, outline an ethical framework that delineates the basic obligations that pediatric suffering generates.