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.
  

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 

2026 forum dates coming soon. 

Clinical Ethics Response Group and Clinical Ethics Committee Member Training

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

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 the bioethics team at bioethics@rch.org.au. 

Ethics for Clinical Practice (ECP) Program

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. For more information or to register your interest, please contact the bioethics team at bioethics@rch.org.au. 

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

Essential Ethics podcast series

The Essential Ethics podcast series includes Ethics Toolkit, Classic Conundrums, Special COVID-19 Pandemic Ethics in a Children's Hospital and past Conferences. All are available on the Essential Bioethics podcast page.