Education

  • 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.

    To make enquiries, please contact Clinical Ethicist georgina.hall@rch.org.au or book a session

    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 
     
    Upcoming Bioethics Forum dates in 2024:

    July- Monday, 22nd July, 12.30- 1.30pm

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

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

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

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

    December- Monday, 16th 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.

     - McDougall, Rosalind J. "Computer knows best? The need for value-flexibility in medical AI." Journal of medical ethics 45.3 (2019): 156-160.
      

     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 offers an intensive three-day ethics program for hospital staff. The Ethics for Clinical Practice (ECP) Program is offered to nursing, allied health and medical staff. The course consists of 3 full study days over 6 weeks and participants must be able to attend all days. We run these courses thorughout hte year. For more information or to register your interest, contact Jenny O'Neill.


    The aim of the program is to increase clinician confidence and engagement in clinical ethics discussions and decision making. 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