About the Clinical Ethics Fellowship

The Clinical Ethics Fellowship in the Center of Biomedical Ethics is a two-year, full-time program designed to prepare graduates to become leaders in bioethics in health care settings, academic institutions, and professional or government agencies. Established in 2015, this non-ACGME fellowship is committed to addressing ethical concerns through clinical ethics consultation, policy development, education and research. This fellowship will be appointed through the Stanford Graduate Medical Education (GME) office.

• The goals and objectives of this fellowship include the following:
  • Comprehensive knowledge of key bioethics topics, including skills in critically evaluating empirical and conceptual research in bioethics
  • Develop proficiency or expertise in clinical ethics consultation.  Fellows are expected to develop the capacity to play the role of lead consultant by the end of the second year.
  • Experience in presenting, teaching, and discussing core concepts in clinically-grounded bioethics at a post-graduate level
  • Develop the ability to take leadership roles in Clinical Ethics Committee Meetings.
  • Acquisition of professional skills for academic achievement in the field of bioethics, including research, CV development, and career building (fellows will be prepared to take a faculty position in the field of bioethics in both hospital and academic settings).
  • Obtain skills to conduct scholarly research related to clinical ethics and bioethics in both independent and highly collaborative research settings.

Fellowship Activities

Fellows will devote 65% of their time in clinical work, 15% in didactic training and teaching, and 20% of their time in research.

Some common fellowship activities include:

• Shadowing ethics consults at Stanford Health Care (SHC) and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH)
  
• Attend clinical rotations at the hospital, including the medical ICU, the transplant listing meetings for all of the solid organs, the palliative service, and neuro-critical care
  
• Participate in interdisciplinary rounds in several ICU units
  
• Attend all ethics committee meetings at SHC and LPCH
  
• Assist in drafting hospital policies, including conducting background research
  
• Didactic work and research, including qualitative research methods, quantitative methods, philosophical or legal approaches
  
• Receiving supplemental training and coursework in research methodology

Year 1

The first year will of the fellowship be devoted to developing basic knowledge while observing clinical encounters to begin to learn skills, and conducting research.

Year 2

Second-year fellows will have the opportunity to conduct the ethics consultation service. Second-year fellows will be on-call for both “curbside” consults as well as full consults (review and analysis of patient files, discussions with primary team, organize and facilitate family meetings and team meetings as needed, etc.), and complete consult reports, medical chart notes, and any necessary follow up on their own. Fellows will also be expected to help organize and participate in educational initiatives for hospital staff.

All SCBE fellows are required to attend the weekly SCBE Seminars as part of their educational and professional development. Interested parties can attend our invited speakers seminars, which occur once per month.

The fellow's full bio can be found here.