Stephanie Van Slyke is a part-time Clinical Ethicist at the Center for Practical Bioethics and a Senior Coordinator of Ethics at a Level II Trauma Center in Traverse City, Michigan. She holds a Master of Science in Bioethics from Creighton University and an undergraduate degree from Saginaw Valley State University. With over 23 years of experience in healthcare, Stephanie brings deep expertise in acute and intensive care, patient care management, advance care planning, and ethics program development.

She is a Certified Healthcare Ethics Consultant (HEC-C) through the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH), where she also serves on the HEC Certification Commission. At Munson Healthcare, Stephanie plays an active role on the Bioethics Resource Committee and led the redesign of the Ethics Mentorship Program—an initiative that has provided foundational ethics education to over 400 frontline clinicians, equipping them to recognize and navigate ethical dilemmas through structured mentorship.

With her passion for educating, Stephanie has presented at regional and national conferences on topics such as surrogate decision-making, CPR and DNR clarity, and integrating ethics into everyday clinical practice. Her advocacy extends beyond the bedside—she has contributed to key legislative initiatives through her statewide and national committee involvement, including the MDHHS Mi-POST Advisory Committee, the National POLST Plenary Assembly (as Michigan’s representative), the Michigan End-of-Life Coalition, and her regions Elder Death Review Task Force.  She was also featured on the Bioethics for the People podcast in the episode titled “Getting Clear on DNR Orders,” where she explored the nuances of resuscitation decisions in clinical practice.

Stephanie has authored multiple institutional policies addressing surrogate decision-making, capacity determination, guardianship, medical incapacity holds, and the ethical withholding/withdrawal of potentially inappropriate treatment. Her leadership is defined by a commitment to ethical clarity, interdisciplinary collaboration, and ensuring that patients, families, and care teams are supported with respect, dignity and compassion throughout the healthcare journey.