Health Care Team (HCT)

A Bioethicist is a professional with an advanced degree in one of many fields who addresses questions about the “right” thing to do when there are conflicting values and uncertainty about ethically justifiable decisions or actions. Bioethics is a broad category of ethics that encompasses all fields of science and health care. Ethicists who work specifically in health care may refer to themselves as “medical ethicists,” “health care ethicists,” or “ethics consultants.”

A Bioethicist analyzes ethical components of a real or potential health care action or decision and provides an ethical justification supporting specific actions or decisions over others. In a hospital, a Bioethicist may be consulted in cases where there is uncertainty about the right course of action for a patient due to conflicting values.

Most individuals who work as Bioethicists have an advanced degree in a field such as philosophy, medicine, nursing, social work, genetics, or law. They may also pursue a specific advanced degree in bioethics, or they may take a certification course in bioethics. The American Society for Bioethics and Humanities outlines the basic competencies that individuals functioning as Health Care Ethics Consultants must have to engage in that work.

Supervision of Bioethicists varies depending on the setting. Many work in academic settings and report to academic department chairs. Those working in health care settings report to whomever oversees the work of the ethics committee or ethics consult service.

The day-to-day activities of a Bioethicist vary widely. Bioethicists typically engage in scholarship (writing, reviewing literature), conduct research studies, take part in patient consults, participate in research reviews (as Institutional Review Board members), give lectures, teach, mentor, and contribute to public policy debates. There is a wide range of activities that can fall under the scope of bioethics.

No license or certification is needed.

Typically, Bioethicists dealing with broad issues don’t interact with patients at the bedside. Patients and their family would benefit from interaction with Bioethicists would be those facing a conflict or ethical dilemma where the skills and knowledge of a health care ethics consultant would help resolve the conflict or dilemma. For example, if a baby is born prematurely and has a poor prognosis, the parents may have conflicting views about what efforts should be made to keep the baby alive. The Bioethicist could be consulted to help work through this conflict.

Usually the Bioethicist becomes involved in a patient’s care at the request of another member of the health care team. Patients and family members can also request an ethics consult.