Reflections | Day 1

What does it really mean to be a professional — and what happens when professions fall short? David Goldman, JD, challenges us to reflect on the ethical responsibilities that come with influence, authority, and trust. Drawing lessons from history and the present day, the talk calls on health professionals to reject victimhood, confront uncomfortable truths, and embrace accountability.

Key themes include:
Why adopting a “victim narrative” undermines responsibility and imagination
The concept of Spielraum — finding creative “wiggle room” to exercise agency and integrity
How influence and power can and must be used to advocate for patients and fairness in health care
What history teaches us about the ordinary motivations that can lead professionals astray
Why complacency and complicity are never acceptable alternatives to responsibility

02:23 – Ethics across professions
03:25 – The audience & ethical tensions
04:57 – How professionalism has changed and the origins of the professions
06:02 – Shifting professional roles
07:06 – Words matter: rethinking “professionalism”
08:34 – Are we wasting time on definitions?
09:28 – Why Auschwitz is in the organization’s name
10:17 – Professionals in Nazi Germany
11:43 – The danger of victimhood
12:23 – Vulnerability vs. complicity
13:16 – Spielraum: finding wiggle room & agency
15:14 – The role of influence
16:56 – Rethinking autonomy
17:59 – Humility as self-awareness
19:39 – Lessons from history: motivations matter
23:58 – The stakes of professional influence
25:03 – Professionalism vs. complicity
27:14 – Reflections


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