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The Educational Needs of Ethics Committees

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2009

Glenn G. Griener
Affiliation:
Division of Bioethics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Janet L. Storch
Affiliation:
Dean of the Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Extract

Hospital ethics committees must be knowledgeable if they are to perform consultations, advise administrators on policy, or offer educational programs. Because the membership of the committee is interdisciplinary, with most drawn from the healthcare professions, the individuals who join cannot be expected to bring knowledge of bioethies with them. Therefore, a new committee must spend time developing expertise before it can appropriately serve the hospital community. Although the need for committee self-education is generally recognized, it is seldom discussed in any detail. When discussed at all, expertise in bioethies is usually described as composed of a familiarity with an identifiable body of knowledge and mastery over techniques of moral reasoning. It is assumed that a committee can develop this expertise early in its life through a short course of study.

Type
Bioethies Education
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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References

Notes

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17. The administrators interviewed were unanimous in the opinion that specific administrative decisions should not find a place on the ethics committee's agenda. Some administrators would welcome committee input on the process and policies used to arrive at these difficult decisions.

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