Can you teach someone to be ethical?
“Bioethics is a broad, interdisciplinary field. Its subject matter encompasses many of the most controversial and weighty matters facing contemporary society” – excerpt from an article in The New York Times by Jacob M. Appel, psychiatrist and bioethicist who has taught bioethics to both high school students and undergraduates.
People are often faced with decisions involving bioethical issues. These situations might arise in the relationship between patients and their physicians, lawyers and their clients, or religious leaders and their congregants.
However, many of us who encounter complex ethical challenges in the healthcare setting have received little or no formal education on the topic. We can become better equipped to meet the challenges we face in our professional lives when we are educated in bioethics.
To help fill this void, we’ve partnered with Houston Methodist Hospital to create a Bioethics Intensive Course designed for participants with a wide range of interests and needs. Past participants have included folks with a range of degrees (M.D., R.N., M.Div., J.D.) in disciplines including chaplaincy, medicine, nursing, risk management, social work, spiritual care, and law.
Course sessions cover foundational concepts, offer insights based on real-world experience, and provide opportunities to practice critical skills on topics such as:
- Ethical decision-making and advance care planning
- Informed consent and capacity
- Conducting a clinical ethics consult and writing chart notes
- Creating an ethics committee and conducting its meetings
- Facilitating family meetings
- Policy development
- Overview of the Healthcare Ethics Consultant-Certified (HEC-C) exam
Our hope is that participants walk away from the week with the ability to understand how to readily identify and respond to ethical issues when they appear, communicate more effectively with patients and their families, and be able to facilitate difficult end-of-life decisions.
Whether you are new to your role or been there for years, the applicability of these tips, tools and insights is only increasing as our society ages and technology innovates.
The world needs more people in healthcare in tune with bioethics teachings and how to make decisions that are ethically sound.
The 6th Annual Bioethics Intensive Course will take place at Baylor College of Medicine from April 20-24, 2020. Registration is now open! Learn more information and register.
-By Karen Frumovitz, J.D., senior project coordinator with the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine
