During the last decade, as he has helped lead efforts to build a “center of excellence” for medical ethics at łÉČËÍ·Ěő University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine (WMed), Michael Redinger, MD, MA, has watched firsthand as a young program he has co-led has grown into a burgeoning academic department integral to the medical’s mission and curriculum.
Those efforts, guided by Dr. Redinger and Tyler Gibb, JD, PhD, co-chairs of the Department of Medical Ethics Humanities and Law, at WMed, haven’t gone unnoticed and, most recently, Dr. Redinger was nominated to serve a seven-year term on the American Medical Association (AMA) Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA).
His nomination, which was made by Bobby Mukkamala, MD, president-elect of the AMA, was confirmed on June 6 during the 2025 Annual Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates in Chicago.
“When Dr. Gibb and I started the Program in Medical Ethics Humanities and Law in 2015 and then transitioned to an academic department in 2021 at WMed, the idea was that we wanted to create something that would help serve the needs of the medical school and our community but also reach beyond that,” Dr. Redinger said. “I think this nomination is affirmation that the work we’ve done so far has been really useful.”
The CEJA has two primary responsibilities – maintaining and updating the AMA Code of Medical Ethics as part of its policy development function and promoting adherence to the code’s professional ethical standards through its judicial function. The AMA Code of Ethics serves as the guide and ethical backbone of American medicine and the standard against which physician conduct is judged.
In addition to policy development, the CEJA helps advise on physician behavior after licensure actions and forms the profession’s moral response to clinical dilemmas. Dr. Redinger said current members of the CEJA represent a who’s who in the world of medical ethics.
“Mike’s appointment signals that our institution isn’t just participating in these national conversations – we’re helping lead them,” Dr. Gibb said. “It affirms WMed's standing as a place where ethics isn’t ancillary to care or education. It’s central to who we are and how we are trying to inspire our students.” Ěý
In addition to his duties as co-chair of the Department of Medical Ethics, Humanities, and Law, Dr. Redinger also serves as an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry. He has also been heavily involved with the AMA and the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) during his career. He currently serves as chair of the MSMS Committee on State Legislation and Regulations and previously served as the Young Physician Section representative on the MSMS Board of Directors.
As he looks back over the last 10 years, Dr. Redinger said he is proud of the work he and Dr. Gibb and other faculty within the Department of Medical Ethics, Humanities, and Law have done to put in place a system for clinical ethics consultation in Kalamazoo to assist physicians when they are faced with convoluted ethical questions that their medical training may not have equipped them to answer alone. That work was never more evident than when the team provided guidance to local hospitals and healthcare workers from across the state as they navigated challenging discussions and difficult decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic.Ěý
In remarks he gave on June 10 after his appointment to the CEJA was confirmed, Dr. Redinger was filled with gratitude and fully aware of the tremendous responsibility the appointment carries with it.Ěý
“Over the past 15 years – as a psychiatrist, clinical ethicist, teacher, and scholar – the most important resource I have relied on is our AMA Code of Medical Ethics.” Dr. Redinger said. “As the first national code of its kind, it remains a living document—an indispensable and comprehensive guide to navigating the ethical challenges of medical practice, both new and enduring. It reflects the collective wisdom of this House in identifying our duties and obligations to each other and those who place their trust in us.”
As he looks ahead to the work that awaits him as a member of the CEJA, Dr. Redinger said he believes a major focus of the body in the coming years will be new technologies, specifically how artificial intelligence (AI) is going to impact physicians and the field of medicine.Ěý
Additionally, as more and more physicians move from private practice to employment, physicians increasingly explore unionization, and with hospital systems and practices increasingly corporatized and backed by private equity firms, Dr. Redinger said the CEJA will be a part of leading the conversation about how doctors continue to practice medicine ethically in those environments.
“I want to bring to the table the perspective of practicing physicians who are seeing patients in smaller communities in community hospitals,” Dr. Redinger said. “Those who are tackling the challenges of practicing medicine in 21st century America outside of larger academic centers. In an increasingly polarized society, I think it’s easy for us to lose sight of the common commitment we’ve made, the values we hold, and that often what brings us together and unites us is greater than those things that divide us. So, we have to model as a profession how we can work together to build bridges and mutually figure out what the right thing to do is for our patients.”
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