Educational Programs

Undergraduate Medical Education

Medical ethics teaching in the medical school is integrated into all four years of medical education. The curriculum is focused on the development of the core competencies that all physicians should have for navigating the ethical issues that arise in clinical practice. The program fosters understanding of basic concepts of medical ethics, the development of skills in clinical moral reasoning, and nurtures the attitudes and inclinations which enable trainees to be exemplary physicians.

Because no single specialty has all of the necessary expertise, we have recognized the need for co-teaching medical ethics. In co-leading groups individuals from different disciplines contribute their special knowledge while they learn about the specialty of their co-teachers. Co-teachers present a model of philosophers and physicians listening to each other and working together. By their participation medical faculty exemplify commitment to the position that medical ethics is a legitimate concern of real doctors. For these reasons, medical ethics teaching at Mount Sinai is done by an interdisciplinary team. Because we recognize the need for philosophical expertise and curricular responsibility, all formally scheduled bioethics education is overseen by the Director of Bioethics Education.

Medical ethics education in the first and second years is integrated into a two-year course, "The Art and Science of Medicine." Ethics sessions in the third and fourth year are integrated into the clinical clerkships. The curriculum for the first and second year medical ethics sessions provides students with an understanding of basic concept and principled of medical ethics.

The third and fourth year clerkship sessions are led by a physician from the specialty along with a philosopher. They focus on the recognition and appreciation of basic concepts in the clinical context. Sessions also address the development of moral reasoning skills.

Ethics Curriculum 2007-2008

First Year

1. Professional Responsibilities (Qualities of a Physician/Codes of Ethics; Student Responsibilities/ Professionalism ; Should Patients Be Learning Tools?)
2. Central Ethical & Legal Principles (Duty to Provide Care (Trust & Fiduciary Responsibility); Truth telling & Informed Consent for Treatment; Confidentiality & the Duty to Warn)
3. Research Ethics (Ethical Dangers of Human Subject Research; The Importance of Research & the Development of New Therapies; The Common Rule: Requirements for the Ethical Conduct of Research)

Second Year

4. The Nature and Value of Autonomy (Concepts of Autonomy; Refusal of Treatment & Justified Paternalism; Standards for Surrogate Decision Making; Advance Directives)
5. Justice and Medicine (Justice in Clinical Practice; The Right to Health Care)
6. Clinical Moral Reasoning

Third and Fourth Years

7. Clinical Skills Week
        - Medical Errors
        - Professionalism

Clinical Clerkships

• Anesthesiology: Refusal of Treatment
• Critical Care - Family Meetings
• Emergency Medicine - Confidentiality & Legal Responsibility
• Family Practice - Adherence and Compliance
• Geriatrics - Giving Bad News
• Medicine - Responding to Errors
• Neurology - Disclosing a Diagnosis
• Ob/Gyn - Reproductive Choice
• Pediatrics - Parental Discretion
• Psychiatry - Treatment over Objection & Confidentiality
• Surgery - Identifying Ethical Issues

Ethics Assessment

Evaluation of the effectiveness of ethics teaching is incorporated into the comprehensive assessment exercises (COMPASS-1 & 2) that are administered at the end of the second and third years.

Elective Courses

Medical Ethics - (Course Directors: Bernard H. Baumrin, Ph.D, J.D. & Daniel A. Moros, M.D.) This is a full semester seminar in medical ethics offered at Mount Sinai every Spring and sponsored jointly with the Ph.D. Program in Philosophy, The Graduate Center, CUNY.