functional description of the health care ethics consultant
This article provides a functional description of the health care ethics consultant
who is active in the clinical setting. It outlines the requisite
knowledge, abilities, and traits of character for case consultation on
ethical
issues in clinical care or in clinical research. and for ethics
consultation to
clinical ethics committees, research ethics boards (institutional review
boards), and policy formulation committees in health care institutions.
This article is the core of the book, the content of other articles
having been
informed by the evolution of this article. This being said, a number of
brief
comments are necessary to place the article within its proper context.
First, it is important to note that individuals
trained in applied ethics engage in a wide variety of activities, both within
and outside of the clinical setting. The Profile outlined in this article is
not for those involved in ethics education in an academic setting or policy
making at a supra-institutional level. Although elements of this Profile may be
relevant to the work of these applied ethicist, the Profile narrowly focuses
on the activities of the health care
ethics consultant in the
clinical setting. Moreover, it assumes that the ethics consultant is actively
engaged in all aspects of ethics consultation as described above. It follows
that for those who are involved in a subset of these activities, certain elements
of the Profile may not be relevant.
Second, the knowledge and abilities listed in
the Profile are minimum standards of practice, although clearly individual
health care ethics consultants will have mastered the requisite knowledge and
abilities to a greater or lesser extent, depending on upbringing, training,
personal style, clinical experience, and institutional constraints. For this
reason, a continuum from novice to expert is allowed for. More generally, the
requirements of the Profile are not static; ongoing self-education and
self-development are expected to ensure a current knowledge base and well-honed
abilities.
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health care ethics consultant
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