The Bioethics Education program aims to promote a culture of ethically informed clinical decision-making and high ethical standards of clinical practice through a range of activities including:

• Professional development for hospital staff through an existing program of bioethics seminars, departmental meetings and grand rounds
• Formal education through the development of an ethics component for existing education programs for junior medical staff, nursing and allied health staff
• Input into bioethics, public health and other relevant subjects and programs at the University of Melbourne and in relevant Colleges and institutions
  
  

Departmental Education

Ethics education sessions are available in person or using Zoom / Teams. We can fit in with your regular department meeting dates.

Bioethics Forum

The Bioethics Forum (formerly the CBC Journal Club) will host monthly ethics discussions and events to encourage and explore topics of interest to those involved in paediatric healthcare. The Bioethics Forum will remain a relaxed and collegial get-together of individuals interested in reading about, hearing about and discussing challenging and fascinating ethical aspects of patient care.

We offer a mix of curated topics each month, for which we will provide a short list of journal articles and book chapters to read and discuss, as well as some presentations from CBC interns and those joining us on sabbaticals and overseas visitors (in the future!) on topics of interest. You remain welcome to bring along your lunch or breakfast to the meeting, and feel free to invite anybody who might be interested in coming along. If you would like to join our Bioethics Forum mailing list, please contact: bioethics@rch.org.au 
 
Bioethics Forum dates in 2024:

February- Monday, 26^th Feb. 12.30- 1.30pm.

March- Wednesday, 27^th March. 8.30 – 9.30am

April- Monday, 22^nd April. 12.30- 1.30pm

May- Wednesday, 22^nd May, 8.30- 9.30am

June- Monday, 17^th June, 12.30- 1.30pm

July- Wednesday, 24^th July, 38.30- 9.30am

August- Monday, 19^th August, 12.30- 1.30pm

September- Attendance at 15^th National Paediatric Bioethics Conference 4-6^th September

October- Wednesday, 23^rd October, 8.30- 9.30am

November- Monday, 18^th November, 12.30- 1.30pm

December- Monday, 16^th December, 12.30- 1.30pm

Past Bioethics Forum topics:

Dr Sid Vemuri’s PhD completion seminar:  We could do more, but should we? Approaching decisions about life-prolonging treatments for children with life-limiting conditions.

Journal article discussion: Moore, B. (2023) The fraught notion of a ‘good death’ in pediatrics. The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. 48, 60-72.

Journal article discussion: Spriggs, M. Children and bioethics: clarifying consent and assent in medical and research settings, British Medical Bulletin, Volume 145, Issue 1, March 2023, Pages 110–119,

ChatGPT and its implications for the healthcare sector: how it may affect ethics discussions and promote or hinder shared decision-making with patients and their families. Readings:

- Rahimzadeh, Vasiliki, et al. "Ethics Education for Healthcare Professionals in the Era of chatGPT and Other Large Language Models: Do We Still Need It?." The American Journal of Bioethics (2023): 1-11.

 Monica Cooper: What's the difference if you're very small?  

Committee Member Training

Annual ethics training workshops are run for members of the Clinical Ethics Response Group and Clinical Ethics Committee. 

Ethics for Clinical Practice (ECP) Program, 2024

The Children’s Bioethics Centre is again running the Ethics for Clinical Practice (ECP) Program in 2024, but for the first time excitingly! we are opening to a mixed nursing/allied health/medical group. Registrations are now open through the Paediatric Academy:

 Ethics for Clinical Practice (ECP) Program | Events | The University of Melbourne (unimelb.edu.au)

The course consists of 3 full study days over 6 weeks and participants must be able to attend all days. The dates for 2024 are:

Friday 19^th April 2024

Friday 3^rd May 2024

Friday 17^th May 2024

This course is run in person at RCH. There is no option for virtual attendance. Please note there will only be one ECP program in 2024.

The aim of the program is to increase clinician confidence and engagement in clinical ethics discussions and decision making. The overall purpose is to optimise ethical awareness at across the Campus. 

The 2024 program will have an intake of approximately 15 clinicians, 5 from each of Nursing, Medical and Allied Health craft groups (so get in quick!). Clinicians will be required to use their professional development leave for these study days.

Topics covered include:

• Introduction to clinical ethics
• The role of the Children’s Bioethics Centre
• Using frameworks for ethical decision making
• Zone of Parental Discretion
• Deciding with children
• Truth-telling to children
• Moral distress and moral regret
• Asking ethical questions
• Advocacy

CBC Conference

CBC Conference - Sharepoint link