The disciplines of this faculty include law, medicine, nursing, psychiatry, philosophy, history, and public policy. Guest Speakers Guest speakers with expertise in topics of interest to participants occasionally join faculty teaching the program. Topics addressed by past lecturers include the constitutionality of physician assisted suicide, the sociology of professional training, health care financing, the history of genetics, the structure and organization of the human genome project, and mediation and negotiation. Criteria for Admission Applications from individuals who work or consult in health care, including physicians, nurses, lawyers, social workers, administrators, executives in managed care, patient representatives, employee benefits managers, and clergy are welcomed. Applicants should already be involved, or have specific plans to become involved, in clinical ethics, including service on an ethics committee or an institutional review board, case consultation, or policy formation.
Enrollment is limited to thirty students.
The applicant's home institution should be willing to support enrollment through release time and by underwriting course fees. The institution should plan to involve the applicant in existing or future bioethics activities. A small number of applicants may be approved who are unconnected to health care institutions but who nevertheless exhibit a serious commitment to working in or writing about the areas of bioethics and the medical humanities. The admissions committee meets on a regular basis and accepts qualified applicants on a rolling admission basis. Because the program is usually fully subscribed, applicants are advised to apply as early as possible.