Sometimes we forget the accomplishments we have made in the Alden March Bioethics Institute since we began almost 20 years ago. We now have a fully integrated set of offerings in both medical education and graduation bioethics.  So I thought it was time to describe them all in a bit more detail.

The Alden March Bioethics Institute began as the Center for Medical Ethics, Education and Research in 1994. Our principal charge was to design and implement a new course as part of the curriculum reform effort that was underway called Health, Care and Society (HCS).  This was a broad course in professionalism, medical ethics and humanities that would become integrated throughout all four years of medical schools. As a required course for all medical students we began in year one, and added a new component each year until the curriculum in all four years were complete. Each year consists of about 40 hours of class work.  In the first two years a little over half the classes are in large groups on topics such as professionalism, special topics in bioethics, medical ethics case analysis, end of life care, effective communication, cultural diversity and alternative/complementary medicine; about a third of so of the classes are small group discussions. In the third and fourth years HCS is integrated into the clinical clerkships and rotations and consists primarily of small groups discussions of a wide range of topics relating to the type of patients students are encountering. One important part of HCS in the third year is in the Medicine rotation, each one consisting of nine meetings where students bring to the table real concerns and issues from cases they are directly experiencing. By now HCS has become normal part of the curriculum and students generally enjoy the chance to discuss these topics that will be so important to their careers as physicians. 

The Alden March Bioethics Institute offers a Master of Science in Bioethics, a Doctorate of Professional Studies in Bioethics, and Graduate Certificates in Clinical Ethics and Clinical Ethics Consultation. For more information on AMBI's online graduate programs, please visit our website.

We are pleased to announce the approval of the Doctorate of Professional Studies, with a concentration in Clinical Ethics Consultation, by the New York State Education Department. This program is, to our knowledge, the first online program of its kind to offer advanced level training in the knowledge and skills of clinical ethics consultation for qualified applicants. The new program is designed specifically for working, health care professionals who possess a master’s degree in bioethics, or equivalent, and who seek a fellowship level, advanced training in clinical ethics consultation. Students will use their professional work environments as the clinical training ground as they complete advanced fellowship courses related to clinical ethics consultation and mediation, elective courses and a doctoral research project.

The fellowship courses include clinical practica in coordination with AMBI faculty and agreed upon mentors at the student’s home institutions.  At the end of the program, graduates will have a portfolio of 32 case consultation reports and will have demonstrated advanced level mastery of the ASBH Core Competencies in Clinical Ethics Consultation.

For more information, visit our website or contact Wayne Shelton at sheltow@mail.amc.edu or 518-262-6423.

The Alden March Bioethics Institute offers Graduate Certificates, a Master of Science in Bioethics, and a Doctorate of Professional Studies in Bioethics. For more information on AMBI's online graduate programs, please visit our website.

“Are you still collecting stories about DTC testing? I've got one for you!” my grad student L.W. e-mailed a few days ago. Little did I know her family's experience would change my mind about direct-to-consumer genetic testing.

L.W. had taken my online course “Genethics” in 2008 for the master’s program at the Alden March Bioethics Institute of Albany Medical College. For one assignment, students choose a DTC testing company, peruse the website, and indicate 3 tests that they would take and 3 that they wouldn't – and why. 

As a class activity, L.W. didn’t really approach the testing seriously. “It's fun cocktail party info. ‘Why, yes, I'd love another mocha cappuccino at 9 pm. No problem... I'm a fast caffeine metabolizer!’” 

The Alden March Bioethics Institute offers graduate online masters in bioethics programs. For more information on the AMBI master of bioethics online program, please visit the AMBI site.

Welcome to the new Alden March Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical College blog!  We are delighted to have this blog up and running.  Blog posts will be written by various faculty, alumni, students, and friends of the Alden March Bioethics Institute.  We hope you enjoy reading our posts as much as we enjoy writing them!  Please feel free to comment on or participate in any of the topics we discuss throughout.  You can find links to our Facebook and Twitter pages on the right side of the page.  You can also find links to our homepage, faculty, and graduate programs at the top.  Again, from all of us here at AMBI, welcome!