Advanced Competency in Pediatric Bioethics
Mission Statement
The Advanced Competency in Pediatric Bioethics for pediatric residents provides training, experience, and skills necessary to become a physician leader in improving the ethical care of children, including one-on-one case-based tutorials with expert faculty educators, reading seminars, experience in teaching bioethics to peers and medical students, observational experience on an ethics committee, scholarship, and mentoring.
Goals
- Develop advanced knowledge and experience in pediatric ethical theory, case analysis, teaching skills, and exposure to medical ethics scholarship
- A publishable paper in bioethics in a peer-reviewed, indexed journal
- Experience in observing ethics committee deliberation
- Teaching bioethics to learners as a small or large group facilitator, with faculty mentorship
Objectives
Through participation in this program, residents will be able to:
- Demonstrate fundamental knowledge of basic and advanced principles of pediatric bioethics
- Develop teaching skills specific to medical ethics, professional behavior, or humanism.
- Practice direct teaching skills with medical students and residents in small and large group formats
- Observe and prepare for an ethics committee case/deliberation (quarterly)
- Present an oral presentation at a local, regional, or national meeting
- Prepare a written manuscript for publication in a bioethics journal
Assessments
- Written assessments (2 per year) by faculty of a case analysis, book review, and/or bioethics film summary
- Direct assessment of teaching skills by faculty mentors (semi-annual evaluation of progress)
- Direct assessment of ethical case analysis skills by faculty mentors
- Presentation of ethics topic to residents and faculty
- Manuscript ready for submission to peer-reviewed, indexed journal
Learning Methods
- One-on-one case-based tutorials with faculty mentors
- Observation of ethics committee at Nationwide Children’s (adult ethics committees at OSU and in geriatrics may also be available)
- Teaching in one or more of the following:
- Participation (as a teacher) in NCH’s ongoing ethics curriculum for residents
- Participation in monthly “Ethics Rounds” for medical students
- Participation in ethics education for Hospital Pediatrics Fellows
- Additional meetings and/or dinners devoted to career development
- Regular meetings with mentor(s)
- Experiential learning through teaching opportunities and completion of scholarly projects
Program Requirements
Commitment
- Must complete formal commitment to the program
- Begin with at least 18 months remaining in training program
Mentoring
- Establish a mentor within 3 months of commitment to the program
- Mentors should have record of accomplishment in pediatric bioethics or medical ethics and mentor designation must be approved by Advanced Competency Program Director
- Conduct a semi-annual review with mentor
Teaching Skills Practice
- Conduct approved teaching activity with OSU or OU medical students and/or junior resident teaching activity under direction of faculty adviser
Ethics Committee Practice
- Residents in the program must attend at least 1 ethics committee meeting every 3-4 months. They will be added to the ethics committee email list.
Scholarly Work Products
- Written manuscript proposal, must be approved by mentor
- Submission of original research or paper to a regional or national conference is encouraged
- Presentation
- Local (E.g., NCH Ethics Committee, OSU Bioethics conference, resident teaching conference/noon conference)
- Regional/National Conference (if accepted and feasible from time perspective)
- Oral presentation to residents and faculty in Advanced Competency Course
Program Faculty
- Ashley K Fernandes, MD, PhD (Philosophy), (Ambulatory Pediatrics) Director of Advanced Competency, Associate Director, Center for Bioethics at OSU [Interests: philosophical ethics, religion and ethics, end of life care, bioethics education, poverty and health, medicine and the Holocaust]
- Sheria Wilson, MD, MA (Bioethics), Co-Director of Advanced Competency [Interests: neonatal/perinatal ethics, teaching and scholarship]
- Pedro Weisleder, MD, MA (Bioethics), Chair of NCH Ethics Committee and Director of the Center for Pediatric Bioethics, Faculty [Interests: ethics committee chair, neurology/ethics, medicine/research and the Holocaust]
- Mark Wells, MD, MA (Bioethics) [Interests: pediatric ethics, philosophical ethics, end of life, complex care children]