Esther Heizmann

Personal information

• Since July 2019: doctoral studies at LMU Munich; Bayerisches Wissenschaftsforum (BAYWISS) scholar, Verbundkolleg Gesundheit
• May 2018 - May 2022: research associate at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS), research focus on "autonomy in healthcare"
• October 2013 - April 2016: studied Medicine, Ethics and Law (M.mel.), Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg (MLU)
• February 2015 - July 2015: Swiss-European Mobility Programme, Faculty of Law and Philosophy, University of Zurich
• October 2009 - September 2013: studied Philosophy and German Language (B.A.), Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg

PhD project

Working title: Was ist unter dem „selbstbestimmten Patientenwillen“ zu verstehen und welche Möglichkeit besteht zu dessen Festlegung? (What does "the self-determined will of the patient" mean and how can it be ascertained?)

Co-supervisor: Prof. Dr. Felicitas Krämer

This dissertation deals critically with the idea, predominant in debates in medical ethics, that an informed patient is also a self-determined and autonomous patient. It is worth asking what "the self-determined will of the patient" means and under which conditions, or according to which metrics, a patient's will can count as self-determined and autonomous. The dissertation will examine challenges in supporting and strengthening the patient's individual will as an expression of his or her personal autonomy, and the obstacles and challenges in regard to ascertaining the patient's self-determined will. Furthermore, it will be investigated whether the model of advance care planning can be useful for supporting and strengthening the patient's wishes, and which additional conditions must be fulfilled so that advance care planning can adequately reflect the patient's wishes.