Health Care Ethics. PhD Program in Health Care Ethics

Transcription

1 Health Care Ethics Jeffrey P. Bishop, MD, PhD. Center Director and Department Chair PhD Program in Health Care Ethics The PhD program presents an integrated, interdisciplinary curriculum in Health Care Ethics that prepares students to work as scholars, clinicians, and corporate ethicists. Students may tailor aspects of their coursework and their dissertation research to focus on biotechnological, clinical, organizational, or research ethics. Students pursuing the JD/PhD, MD/PhD, or the MA/PhD follow a modified curriculum. Students entering the PhD program from baccalaureate studies pursue additional coursework as described below. COURSEWORK Students who have completed a Masters degree or another advanced degree (e.g., a JD or MD) complete 48 hours of coursework as described in this section. Students entering the PhD program directly from baccalaureate studies complete an additional 12 credit hours of coursework, as described in the following section. Students pursuing the JD/PhD or the MD/PhD complete a modified version of the Masters-level PhD program curriculum described here. Students register for courses in five areas: Foundations, Context of Health Care, Topics and Scholars, Practica, and Dissertation Research. Foundations of Health Care Ethics (12 hours) The Foundations courses establish the research competencies required for the scholarly analysis of health care ethics. These required courses examine philosophical (HCE-601), religious (HCE-602), and interdisciplinary (HCE-604) methods in health care ethics. Additionally, student are required to complete 1 of the following 3 foundations courses: HCE-605 Philosophical Foundations in Ethics, HCE-606 Psychosocial Foundations in Ethics, HCE-607 Foundations of Catholic Morality. Context of Health Care (12 hours) Five Context courses are required: Medicine for Ethicists (HCE-611, 1 credit), Health Care Law (HCE-612, 3 credits), and Bioethics and the Law (HCE-660, 2 credits), HCE-618 Clinical Ethics, HCE-639 Research Ethics, and HCE-641 Practicum. These courses provide practical knowledge and skills relevant to the various real world contexts of health care ethics. Topics and Scholars in Health Care Ethics (12 hours) Students will complete 12 credit hours of Topics and Scholars courses. Preferably some electives will be in areas related to a student s anticipated dissertation research. After passing the comprehensive examinations, students prepare a dissertation proposal and write a dissertation while registered for 12 credit hours of dissertation research (HCE- 699). ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS IN THE CURRICULUM INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: Research Tools These competencies are essential for success in health care ethics. Students may develop these competencies through different mechanisms. 1. Competency in medical terminology 2. Competency in library database skills 3. Competency in reading statistics and study design Comprehensive Examinations The comprehensive examinations occur after completing all course work and practica. For more information about comprehensive examinations, go to PhD_Comp_Exams. You may click on the website listed above or on the highlighted comprehensive examinations text to link directly to the relevant web page. Dissertation Proposal After passing the oral and written comprehensive examinations, students prepare a formal dissertation proposal. The dissertation proposal is a distinct requirement of the program and it must be approved in writing by all members of the dissertation committee and the Center Director. In their dissertation proposals, PhD candidates must present substantial evidence of their ability to extend the knowledge base in the major field and demonstrate how the research competencies in the program are to be integrated with the proposed research of the dissertation. Oral Defense of the Dissertation Upon completion of the dissertation, students publicly present and defend their dissertation before their dissertation committee, CHCE faculty and doctoral students. ADDITIONAL COURSEWORK REQUIREMENT FOR STUDENTS ENTERING DIRECTLY FROM BACCALAUREATE STUDIES Students entering the PhD Program directly from baccalaureate studies additionally complete 12 hours of coursework. HCE-605: Philosophical Foundations of Ethics (3 credits)- or an equivalent 3-credit hour graduate-level foundations of ethics course HCE-606: Psychosocial Foundations in Ethics-or a suitable 3-credit hour graduate-level applied ethics course available in Dissertation Research (12 hours)

2 HCE-607 Catholic Foundations of Morality-or a suitable 3- credit hour graduate-level applied ethics course available in CMHC-502: Ethical Issues in Public Health-or a suitable 3- credit hour graduate-level applied ethics course as available in And 1 upper level ethics elective either within HCE or. Note: This lists 5 courses; however, one of the first 3 courses listed is required as a selective for all PhD students and does not count toward the additional 12 hrs. required. JD/PHD CURRICULUM Students begin their dual degree studies at the School of Law as traditional first-year students. In their second and third years of study, students are primarily law students but take six hours of courses at the Center for Health Care Ethics. In addition to the six hours at the CHCE, students enroll in a three-hour directed research course that is cross-listed by both programs. The directed research project is supervised by faculty from both programs and is treated as a traditional law school directed research project. Dual degree students ordinarily graduate with the JD in three years of full-time study. It is recommended that they sit the bar exam in the summer following their graduation. Beginning in the fall following their graduation from the School of Law, all academic work is dedicated to the PhD program. The PhD program recognizes 9 hours of law school courses towards the PhD. (See details below.) Additionally, students will have completed 9 hours of Health Care Ethics classes during the JD program. Thus it is expected that students will complete their PhD coursework in two semesters following their JD program. Comprehensive exams and the dissertation ordinarily require an additional three semesters. During the entire time that students are enrolled in the dual degree program, it is expected that they will be engaged in both programs. Starting with their second year of law school, students will take part in PhD seminars and other extracurricular programs offered by the doctoral program. Once they have completed their JD and are enrolled in the doctoral program, it is expected that they will remain engaged in relevant health law activities at the School of Law. CURRICULAR DETAIL Students complete the usual curriculum in both the Juris Doctor (JD) and PhD programs. However, as indicated below, 18 credit hours of coursework satisfies requirements in both of the dual degree programs. Law Courses Counted Toward PhD Degree (7 credits) LAW-757: Health Care Law [3 credits; replaces Topics and Scholars Elective] LAW-758: Bioethics and the Law [2 credits; Context Requirement.] LAW-86H22: Research Ethics [2 credits; replaces HCE 639 Research Ethics] PhD Courses Counted Toward JD Degree (9 credits) HCE-653: Directed Research in Health Law and Ethics [Cross listed with LAW-885: Directed Research (3)] [Required] Plus two of the following five additional PhD courses: HCE-604: Interdisciplinary Research in Health Care Ethics (3) HCE-605: Philosophical Foundations of Ethics (3) HCE-606: Psychosocial Foundations in Ethics (3) HCE-607: Catholic Foundations of Morality (3) HCE-634: Health Care Reform (3) * Note: Dual degree students complete the Masters-level PhD program track, not the more extensive BA-level track. MD/PHD CURRICULUM Students begin their dual degree studies as traditional first year students in the School of Medicine. After the second year of medical school, students begin full-time study in Health Care Ethics. Students are expected to complete the PhD in three years, after which they return to the School of Medicine to complete the third and fourth years of medical studies. A minimum of 48 hours of coursework is required for the PhD. This ordinarily includes 33 hours of course work, three hours of practicum, and 12 hours of dissertation research. CHCE accepts 7 credit hours from Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the MD curriculum. The required courses HCE-611 Introduction to Medicine for Ethicists, one 3-credit Topics and Scholars elective and the HCE-641 Practica are waived based on medical school coursework in Patient, Physician, and Society I and II, and in Fundamentals of Biomedical Science. MD/PhD students will be recognized as having satisfied all three Research Tools requirements based on trainee knowledge of medical terminology, biostatistics, and library database searches. The remaining 27 credit hours of PhD coursework, comprehensive exams, the dissertation, and the public defense of the dissertation must be completed during the three years of PhD study. * Note: Dual degree students complete the Masters-level PhD program track, not the more extensive BA-level track. MA/PHD CURRICULUM Ordinarily, students begin their MA studies at Aquinas Institute of Theology (AIT) during their first year of the program. In year 1, students will complete 30* hours of 36 hours required for the MA from AIT: 6 credits Biblical Studies 3 credits Historical Studies 12 credits Systematic Theology

3 9 credits Moral Theology During the second year, students enter the PhD program at SLU and follow the PhD curriculum for students who already hold Masters degrees. In Year 2, dual degree students become eligible for assistantship funding. AIT will count 6 credits from the PhD coursework completed in Year 2 toward completion of the MA. The following PhD courses may be used to fulfill the final 6 credits toward the MA: HCE 602 (Religious Methods in Health Care Ethics) or HCE 631 (Health Care Ethics in the Catholic Tradition) [Dual degree students must enroll in both of these courses during their time in the Ph.D. program. Completion of 1 of the courses is required for completion of the M.A. These courses are offered in alternating spring semesters. Therefore, students will complete only one of them in Year 2 of the dual degree program.] A 3 credit elective in HCE * A total of 6 credits taken toward the MA at AIT will count towards fulfillment of the Topics and Scholars elective requirements in the Ph.D. program. Two of the following MA courses may be treated as Topics and Scholars electives for the PhD: Justice and Catholic Social Teaching Ethics of Human Sexuality Christian Anthropology (Any substitutions to these courses must be approved by the MA advisor and the Center Director.) After the end of Year 2 and completion of the major paper and comprehensive exams required for the MA degree, students are awarded the MA in Theology from AIT. The timing for completion of the major paper and the comprehensive exams is to be determined in consultation with the MA advisor at AIT. In Year 3, students complete the coursework required for the PhD. CERTIFICATE OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH METHODS IN BIOETHICS Students, with the approval of the program s faculty, may opt to complete this certificate program. The certificate program, which has two distinct tracks (qualitative and quantitative), requires 15 hours of coursework, some of which can be integrated into the traditional PhD program. The aim of the certificate program is to prepare students to do independent research based either on survey (quantitative) or on interview (qualitative) methods. Data gathered during the final courses of the certificate program should be integrated into the doctoral dissertation in health care ethics. For further detail, see section 1.B. PHD CONCENTRATION IN RESEARCH ETHICS Students enrolled in the PhD program in health care ethics may take 15 hours of coursework with an emphasis on research ethics and write a dissertation (12 credits) in research ethics to develop expertise in the area of human research ethics. The concentration requirements are outlined below: HCE-603 (3 credits): Applied Methods in Health Care Ethics or HCE-604 (3 credits): Interdisciplinary Research in Health Care Ethics Concentration students will focus their paper in the are of human subjects research. [Note: Both courses are required for the PhD program. Students in the Human Research concentration would be required to focus on research ethics in at least one of the two classes.] HCE-639 (3 credits): Research Ethics HCE-698 (3 credits) Students will complete at least one directed reading course in research ethics. Elective in Research Methodology (3 credits) Concentration students would be required to take a class in research methodology or would be required to demonstrate advanced standing in this area. [Note: This will be treated as one of the Topics and Scholars electives required as part of the PhD program.] Practicum (3 credits) Students will complete their practicum in the area of human subjects research. Dissertation (12 credits) Students will write a dissertation in research ethics. PHD CONCENTRATION IN CATHOLIC TRADITION Students enrolled in the PhD program in health care ethics may take 15 hours of coursework with an emphasis on health care ethics in the Catholic tradition and write a dissertation (12 credits) in the Catholic tradition to develop expertise in the area of Catholic health care ethics. Note: The Catholic Health Association has recommended that ethicists working in Catholic health care with an interdisciplinary PhD degree should additionally hold an MA in theology. We strongly recommend that students who do not already hold an MA in theology complete our dual degree program, offered in collaboration with the Aquinas Institute of Theology. Alternately, students should plan on completing an MA prior to commencing work in Catholic health care. The concentration requirements are outlined below. As a prerequisite, students must complete HCE-607 Foundations of Catholic Morality or demonstrate that they have completed an equivalent course at the 500 or 600 level. HCE-602 (3 credits): Religious Methods in Health Care Ethics Concentration students will focus their paper and receive special mentoring in the Catholic tradition. HCE-631 (3 credits): Health Care Ethics in the Catholic Tradition HCE-698 (3 credits): Graduate Reading Course

4 Students will complete at least one directed reading course on the Catholic tradition in health care ethics. Elective related to Health Care and the Catholic Tradition (3 credits) Concentration students would be required to take a course in an area relevant to health care and the Catholic tradition. [Note: This will be treated as one of the Topics and Scholars electives required as part of the PhD program.] Practicum (3 credits) Students will complete a practicum in Catholic health care. Dissertation (12 credits) Students will write a dissertation on health care ethics in the Catholic Tradition. COURSE DESCRIPTIONS Please refer to the CHCE website for course descriptions: Curriculum: Certificate of Empirical Research Methods CERTIFICATE OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH METHODS IN BIOETHICS PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND GUIDELINES PROGRAM OVERVIEW Students enrolled in the PhD Program in Health Care Ethics may opt to complete a Certificate of Empirical Research Methods in Bioethics. The PhD Program was designed to produce graduates who are competent in normative health care ethics. Completion of a Certificate is meant to indicate special research competencies over and above those gained in the PhD program. These specific competencies pertain to empirical research in the field of bioethics. The Certificate Program has two tracks: Quantitative and Qualitative. Both tracks require the completion of 15 hours of coursework. Integration of Certificate and PhD Coursework. Some Certificate courses will satisfy PhD Program course requirements. These substitutions were carefully considered so as not to compromise competency in normative ethics or in knowledge of the context of health care. Because there may be up to 6 credit hours of overlap, students who enter the PhD Program with the pre-requisite in inferential statistics will be required to complete only 9 additional credit hours of coursework. Students may receive up to 6 hours of advanced standing within the Certificate program for methods courses completed elsewhere. Integration with the PhD Program s Educational Mission. The most significant aspect of any PhD program is dissertation research. All dissertations in the PhD Program are expected to make original contributions to normative ethics in health care. However, normative ethics must be informed by many facts, frequently by empirical facts about the values people hold, the causal factors influencing a moral situation, or the outcomes of quality improvement or educational interventions. This presents the opportunity to incorporate original empirical research into dissertations in normative ethics. The capstone course for the Certificate, HCE652 Directed Empirical Research in Bioethics, requires students to gather original data that will be incorporated into the doctoral dissertation. The course will provide students with the mentoring necessary to integrate this data into the doctoral dissertation proposal in a way that is sensitive to the interdisciplinary nature of this endeavor. COURSE OF STUDIES FOR THE QUALITATIVE TRACK Note: In square brackets substituted CHCE PhD courses are indicated. SOC-560 Research Methodology (or equivalent, such as SW-S775, Social Work Research). SOC-580 Survey Research Methods [Topics and Scholars Elective] NR-N610 Qualitative Methods in Nursing Research (or an equivalent graduate level, introduction to qualitative methods course, such as SW-S776) A suitable course on Intermediate Qualitative Research HCE-652 Directed Empirical Research in Bioethics [Topics requirement] COURSE OF STUDIES FOR THE QUANTITATIVE CERTIFICATE Note: In square brackets substituted CHCE PhD courses are indicated. SOC-560 Research Methodology (or equivalent, such as SW-S775, Social Work Research). SOC-580 Survey Research Methods [Topics and Scholars Elective] PSY-625 Analysis of Variance and Experimental Design PSY-650 Multivariate Statistical Analysis HCE-652 Directed Empirical Research in Bioethics [Topics requirement] As most courses build upon each other, course work is ordinarily to be completed in the order indicated above. ADVANCED STANDING AND RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS Courses in research methods may not be transferred. However, students who have completed graduate level courses in research methods may apply for advanced standing in the certificate program (effectively having some requirements waived in lieu of previous coursework). The student will be

5 required to provide the CHCE Certificate Program Director with a copy of his or her transcripts and a copy of the syllabus of all courses for which recognition is sought. If the Certificate Program Director considers the student to have met some of the certificate course requirements, the student will then petition the Center Director for advanced standing. At a minimum, students must complete at Saint Louis University HCE-652 plus two other 3-credit hour graduate level courses in research methods. Substitutions may be made in order to avoid duplication of coursework. UPON SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF CERTIFICATE COURSEWORK Certificates will be awarded upon successful completion of all coursework. Students transcripts will indicate the Certificate courses completed. The Center for Health Care Ethics will issue the physical Certificate, which will indicate which of the two Tracks was completed. The Certificate will be signed by the Certificate Director and the Center Director. DISSERTATIONS INCORPORATING ORIGINAL EMPIRICAL RESEARCH (see policy under section on dissertations) Post-baccalaureate: Applicants are required to possess a bachelor s degree with a major or a minor in a field related to ethics in the humanities (e.g., philosophy or religious studies) and their writing sample and statement of aims must evidence the maturity needed to complete a PhD in health care ethics. Basic competencies in philosophical and applied ethics are developed within the doctoral curriculum. THROUGH THE JD/PhD PROGRAM Ordinarily, JD/PhD students are required to satisfy the same prerequisites as students admitted to the PhD program on the postgraduate admission track. THROUGH THE MD/PhD PROGRAM MD/PhD students must have completed a graduate level foundations of ethics course and applied ethics course. Students may satisfy these requirements as directed reading courses during the summer between the first and second years of medical school. Applicants to the health care ethics program must provide a sample of writing in health care ethics that demonstrates the ability to do doctoral level coursework in the field. CERTIFICATE OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH METHODS IN BIOETHICS PETITION TO PURSUE A CERTIFICATE WITHIN A DEGREE PROGRAM Graduate Education form is available online at: adprogramia.pdf Admissions: Prerequisites THROUGH THE POSTGRADUATE TRACK Students must have completed a Master s degree in a field relevant to health care ethics or a professional degree in a field of health care or law. Ordinarily, students whose Master s level curriculum did not include the following items will need to complete additional prerequisite course work to satisfy the following items: 1. Foundations in Philosophical Ethics (graduate-level, 3 credit hours). 2. Applied Ethics (graduate-level, 3 credit hours). 3. Logic or Critical Thinking (undergrad/graduate, 3 credit hours). 4. MA thesis in ethics or six credit hours of humanities studies which included essays. THROUGH THE POST-BACCALAUREATE TRACK