Potter, Jordan http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8306-7782
Hurst, Daniel http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0592-2592
Trani, Christine http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1405-9201
Clatty, Ariel
Stockey, Sarah
Article History
First Online: 18 June 2019
Endnotes
: <sup>1</sup> We are focusing on doctoral programs whose primary subject area is bioethics/healthcare ethics and who have curriculum components aimed at attaining clinical experience and/or skills rather than doctoral programs that are situated in a more traditional discipline – such as philosophy, theology, health policy, etc. – and have designated tracks or concentrations in ethics/bioethics. Specifically, there are four main doctoral programs at four different American institutes of higher education that will be the focuses of this paper: the doctoral bioethics programs at Albany Medical College, Duquesne University, Loyola University Chicago, and Saint Louis University.<sup>2</sup> It is important to note that while we are all graduates of the same doctoral bioethics program, we are not advocating for one program over another, per se. Rather, we are relying on our experiences as early-career professional bioethicists who have completed a doctoral bioethics program to guide us as we consider the strengths and weaknesses that we see in the overall field of doctoral bioethics education.<sup>3</sup> While the first motivation is likely to be a motivation of virtually all doctoral bioethics students, we acknowledge that not every doctoral bioethics student will desire to have a clinically-oriented career, as many students might desire to be academics who specialize in bioethics. However, we do not believe that this should affect the utility of our recommendations to programs, as academics can still greatly benefit from increased clinical experience and knowledge of how bioethics functions in the “real world” of American healthcare. Further, students who desire to be academics specializing in bioethics would be following an academics track, which would not necessarily be affected in any substantial way by our recommendations for more student opportunities for clinical experience in these programs. We also acknowledge that these two listed motivations are not exhaustive of all possible motivations for pursuing a bioethics doctorate, and there are likely other supporting motivations that also play a role in this decision.<sup>4</sup> And even for medical students and other clinical doctoral degree tracks, clinical experience from a clinical ethics perspective is usually not available as a rotation option.<sup>5</sup> That said, we still do see value in having at least some clinical experience ingrained into the academic track, as this type of clinical experience can greatly inform an academic bioethicist’s perspective.