Reidar Pedersen

Reidar Pedersen is a Professor at the Centre for Medical Ethics within the Institute of Health and Society at the University of Oslo. He has held significant leadership positions including Head of the Centre for Medical Ethics (2015-2023), Deputy Head of the Institute of Health and Society (2020-2023), and currently serves as Head of Research at the Institute since January 2024.

His academic interests span medical ethics with particular focus on clinical ethics support, end-of-life ethics, informed consent, competence to consent, coercion, advance care planning, involvement of next of kin, resource allocation, health law and ethics, physician-patient communication, and hermeneutics. His research employs diverse methodologies including qualitative and quantitative approaches, intervention studies, systematic reviews, and theoretical analyses.

Pedersen's recent publication record demonstrates consistent scholarly output with particular emphasis on implementation challenges of ethical frameworks in geriatric care, psychiatric settings, and pandemic response. His work shows a clear pattern of investigating how ethical principles translate into practical healthcare settings, with special attention to family involvement, patient autonomy, and organizational implementation barriers.

His teaching activities are primarily directed toward healthcare personnel across various professions and specialties, covering most key topics within clinical ethics. He also teaches students at different academic levels and in various programs.

As a scholar with dual training in medicine and philosophy, Pedersen brings an interdisciplinary perspective to medical ethics, bridging theoretical frameworks with practical healthcare applications. His leadership roles indicate significant institutional influence in shaping medical ethics research and practice in Norway.