The Advanced Certificate in Clinical Bioethics

Program Mission

The Advanced Certificate in Clinical Bioethics is a multidisciplinary graduate credential administered by the University of Rochester’s Department of Health Humanities & Bioethics in the School of Medicine & Dentistry that prepares students to identify, analyze, and discuss the ethical considerations and/or conflicts that arises in the context of health care decision-making.

This program addresses stated priorities in the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry and University of Rochester Medical Center strategic plans. This program reinforces the biopsychosocial approach to patient care and develops clinical skills, knowledge, and attitudes consistent with health care professional core competencies. Among these skills are ethical and humanistic patient care, interpersonal and communication skills, and professionalism.

Program Description

This part-time program prepares clinicians to appropriately respond to moral challenges in patient care. Students can complete 1-2 tracks at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Instructors are faculty from the Department of Health Humanities & Bioethics, including the core members of the clinical ethics consultation team. All clinical experiences will take place in UR Medicine Laboratories located at the University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14642.

Detailed Certificate Description

Educational Objectives

This program is designed for health care professionals and students in health-related programs. The program 1) prepares students to apply philosophical and conceptional foundations of bioethics patient care and health care decision making; 2) master skills necessary for resolving ethical conflicts, including active listening, empathy, mediation, and conflict resolution; and 3) differentiate and appraise legal and ethical obligations in patient care and health care decision making.

Curriculum

Students must complete 9 credits of coursework; 18 credits are required for the clinical consultant track.

Detailed Certificate Description

Required Courses for Advanced Certificate

Required Courses Course Name
MHU 4XX - TBD Clinical Ethics & the Law
MHU 4XX - TBD Philosophical Foundations of Bioethics
MHU 410 Clinical Bioethics

Clinical Ethics Consultants Track Required Courses

The Program offers additional courses for those interested in serving as clinical ethics consultants

Required Courses Course Name
MHU 4XX - TBD Clinical Ethics Practicum I
MHU 4XX - TBD Clinical Ethics Practicum II
MHU 4XX - TBD Clinical Ethics Consultation Reading Seminar

 

How To Apply

This program accepts applications on a rolling basis. Review the Application Timeline to ensure your application and all supporting materials are submitted prior to the deadline. Early applications are strongly encouraged.

Eligibility

This program is open to all graduate students enrolled in a health care related program, all faculty and staff at the University of Rochester Medical Center, all faculty and staff at all UR Medicine affiliated institutions, all faculty and staff affiliated with other health care institutions, and individuals with a bachelor’s degree and demonstrated interested in healthcare.

Promising applicants who do not precisely meet admissions requirements will be further evaluated by the admissions committee on an individual basis, using academic transcripts, personal statements, letters of recommendation, and other supporting evidence.

Members of the University’s community come from different geographical areas representing differences in ethnicities, religious beliefs, values, and points of view. They may be physically different, have different intellectual interests or have different abilities. The University not only welcomes such differences in its community members but, in fulfilling its own missions and in preparing the health care professionals of the future, it actively seeks to recruit and include all graduate students in a health care related program, as well as staff and faculty from across the region.

Application Requirements

It is expected that all application materials (with the exception of official score reports) be scanned and uploaded to your online application. Please note that the University of Rochester reserves the right to verify the accuracy of all transcripts and to require submission of official documentation at any point in the admissions review process.

  1. Online Application (recommended browser is Google Chrome) We will begin accepting applications in January 2024 for admission to Fall Semester 2024.
  2. Statement of Purpose
  3. Uploaded copy of transcript(s) to online application. Please do not mail a hard copy at this time.
  4. CV or resume
  5. Payment of the $60.00 application fee
  6. Research papers, publications and other original works may also be submitted for consideration, but are not required
  7. 2 Letters of recommendation

It is expected that all application materials be scanned and uploaded to your online application. Please do not include secondary school documentation, financial documentation, etc, as these are not utilized during the admissions process.

Financial Information

Tuition Fees

$1,970 per credit hour ($5,910 per course). University of Rochester employee tuition benefits apply.

Please review the tuition refund policy and refund schedule. Withdrawal policies are available in the Regulations and University Policies Concerning Graduate Students.

Contact

Margie Shaw, JD, PhD
Director of the Clinical Ethics Program
Phone: (585) 275-5800

Erin Lee, MS
Advanced Certificate Program Coordinator
Phone: (585) 276-6687

Mailing Address

Department of Health Humanities & Bioethics
University of Rochester Medical Center
601 Elmwood Ave, Box 676
Rochester, NY 14642

Phone: (585) 275-5800
Fax: (585) 276-0152

More information, including information about resources that support the University’s commitment to equal opportunity, can be found at Equal Opportunity at Rochester