Advanced ethics training goes on-line
Bioethics degree developed by NY universities
Clinical research professionals who seek to expand their career flexibility and marketability have the option of obtaining a master’s degree in bioethics via the Internet through a joint venture of Albany Medical College of Albany, NY, and Union University of Schenectady, NY.
It’s one of the first fully on-line bioethical training degrees offered nationwide, and it was designed to be flexible and accessible to full-time research professionals who are unable to take a couple of years off to pursue advanced training and education.
The on-line degree program includes an initial pro seminar and a practicum, but timing for both could be worked around a professional career, says John E. Kaplan, PhD, professor of cardiovascular sciences at Albany Medical College. Kaplan also is a member of the Alden March Bioethics Institute, a professor of biomedical sciences at the State University of New York School of Public Health in Albany, and a professor of bioethics in the graduate college of Union University.
The program’s students have included clinical trials professionals, physicians, executives with health maintenance organizations, attorneys, legislative staff, philosophy students, and medical students, Kaplan notes. "This program accommodates people already in their professional life in ways that most programs can’t," Kaplan says. "Most of our students are on a career trajectory and find that a master’s of bioethics will help them advance in their career."
For example, physicians might become bioethicists at their own work sites, and others earning the degree will introduce bioethics programs to their organizations, including clinical consultation services, he says.
Others might audit the course to brush up ethical issues for their work with IRBs or in university research departments.
"Most people take two to three years to finish this because they only take a single course at a time," Kaplan says.
The program is not set up to accommodate full-time students, and its faculty are drawn from Union University, Albany Medical College, and other regional colleges. The program is located on-line at www.bioethics.union.edu.
Students begin with a two-week, on-site pro seminar, which involves visiting faculty and regular faculty, who touch on a wide variety of topics in bioethics, preparing students to take the on-line courses, Kaplan says.
"It gives students a chance to meet fellow students because they won’t see them in class, and it gives them a chance to meet faculty, as well as outside experts," Kaplan says.
This is followed by on-line courses in health care policy, biomedical ethics, bioethics in the law, and electives, including Kaplan’s course in research ethics. Each course is taught with assigned readings and text or video lectures.
After more clinical ethics coursework, students work in a two-part practicum. The first part involves work on-site at various approved locations nationwide, and the second part is on-line work, Kaplan explains. "We try to find students a practicum that is geographically practical, and it’s a summer experience," he says.
"To me the most important part of this course is the discussion board, where each individual posts a response, and others get on-line at different times and respond," Kaplan says. On the discussion board, Kaplan will post a case study for his course and asks students to respond to several questions.
For example, one recent case was as follows:
Data selection and retention: Mark Creighton is a technician working in a radiobiology laboratory. His current project entails assaying prostagland in excretion in rats that have been treated with various radioprotective agents before exposure to gamma radiation. Prostaglandin measurements are taken with an autoanalyzer, a machine that automatically dispenses and mixes reagents used in the assay. In one of the experimental runs, six of the 10 assays show a reasonably clear, positive correlation between the dosing of a radioprotective drug and prostaglandin excretion. Four of the assays show no such correlation. Upon hearing the results, Mark’s supervisor explains that the assay equipment is highly delicate, and unless conditions are ideal and the reagents very fresh, erroneous results can be obtained. He tells Mark that the results showing no correlation will not be considered in the write-up of the research because it is clear that they are not valid. The supervisor asks Mark to freshen the reagents more frequently and to continue collecting data.
— Question 1: In this case, how should the assay results showing no positive correlation be considered in writing up the research? Should they be ignored? How would you decide?
— Question 2: What criteria should one apply in determining whether experimental results are truly erroneous or whether they reflect an actual phenomenon?
— Question 3: What should Mark do if, after following the supervisor’s instructions to freshen the reagents more frequently, he finds that the results continue to be ambiguous with regard to the correlation?
— Question 4: What pattern in obtaining negative and positive results would be supportive of the supervisor’s assertion that the equipment and reagents are at fault? What role might the appropriate use of controls play in helping Mark deal with this experimental problem?
The students’ answers are posted in real time as they submit them, but it’s not like an instant messenger or virtual classroom where everyone is on-line at the same time. "We leave the questions and answers up as people post and respond to them, and there’s a discussion that takes place over a week," Kaplan adds.
The discussion board counts for a good portion of the grade, and other requirements include short writing assignments and a large final writing assignment, which students can submit as a collaborative effort, Kaplan says.
"There’s also a master’s project that involves research or other scholarly work in the area of research ethics, and it amounts to a master’s thesis," Kaplan says.
Clinical trials professionals should have a good understanding of the issues involved in human studies, along with a background in bias and conflict of interest, and this is what the bioethics training provides, Kaplan says. "If you’re a clinical trials coordinator, one of the things you’d be able to do as a result of bioethics training is be able to take leadership positions in the IRB process," Kaplan notes. "You could engage in clinical consultation."
Since most institutions don’t have many people trained formally in bioethics, those who do have this training are able to broaden out beyond the field of research ethics and are influential in the IRB process, research ethics or bioethics training, and in other ways, Kaplan says.
Also, clinical trials professionals with bioethics degrees could conduct research that examines the effects financial incentives and reimbursements have on study participants’ behavior, Kaplan says.
"Rather than simply being debated to find answers, you could actually do studies to find the answer," Kaplan says.
"The current experimental work does define new ethical concerns that need to be addressed, and sometimes you can address those by opinion and debate, and sometimes you can design and pose real studies that provide you with definitive answers."
Clinical research professionals who seek to expand their career flexibility and marketability have the option of obtaining a masters degree in bioethics via the Internet through a joint venture of Albany Medical College of Albany, NY, and Union University of Schenectady, NY.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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