Education
Medical Student Courses
The Division takes principal responsibility for the education of Harvard Medical School students on issues of ethics and values in medicine. Throughout students’ time at HMS, the Division strives to introduce them to the complex social issues confronting medical professionals today and lay the groundwork that will prepare students to handle the ethical challenges they will encounter throughout their medical careers.
The Responsible Conduct of Research course (formerly the PPSI – Program in the Practice of Scientific Investigation) has been developed within the HMS Division of Medical Ethics to provide education in the responsible conduct of research for postdoctoral fellows in the biomedical sciences.
Because clinical education does not end upon completion of formal medical training, the Division conducts a one-year fellowship program for advanced training in medical ethics.
The Medical Ethics Faculty Seminar, directed by Division faculty member Marcia Angell, brings together healthcare professionals from around the University for monthly presentations and discussions around a single theme. Themes from previous years have included, “The State of Bioethics,” “The Role of the Pharmaceutical Industry in American Medicine”, “How We Die”, and “Moral Erosion: When (And How) To Say No”.
Programs for Harvard Affiliated Healthcare Providers
In our quest to enhance the quality of ethical practice and debate in medical care throughout Harvard Medical School’s affiliated hospitals, the Division encourages medical ethics activities, dialogue and collaboration among HMS’s affiliate clinical institutions.
