Overview

VCOM and the Institute of Consultative Bioethics proudly partner to provide an Ethics Committee – The Basics 2.00 hour CME.

Healthcare professionals train for situations ranging from fact-based, logical decision-making in non-urgent cases to triage in critical life-and-death scenarios. This education is essential for practitioners, who often lack training for ethical triage situations.

Today’s society is diverse, with varied values and ethical ideals. Medically speaking, what place does ethics play in patient care? How can physicians and health care professionals determine which values or ethical dilemmas require immediate attention?

"Patient- and family-centered care is becoming an integral component of modern medicine due to forces from within the profession and external pressures. This approach is grounded in the ethical value of embracing patients and families as 'essential partners.' It systematizes this ethical imperative by enabling clinicians to uncover issues important to patients and devise genuinely patient-centered solutions, ultimately translating ethical good intentions into ethical conduct" (Journal of Ethics, American Medical Association, 2022).

This CME consists of ten topics essential for the ethics committee - the basics

The Topics are:

Organizational Ethics
Establishing Ethics in a Healthcare Facility
Assessing the Ethical Culture of an Organization
Role of The Ethics Committee
Core Competencies for Ethics Committee Members
Core Competencies for Ethics Consultants
Creating a Culture of Patient Safety
Defining an Ethics Consultation
Conducting an Ethics Consultation
Institutional Review Boards

The course is completed with an assessment.

Target Audience

The enduring CME is designed for anyone seeking more knowledge in this critical communication element. It benefits alumni, faculty, and staff who want to expand their understanding of medical ethics.

Learning Objectives

Identify the three goals of organizational ethics, understand the role of accreditation bodies in healthcare ethics, and review ethical safeguards for corporate and regulatory organizational ethics.
Understand how professional organizations shape healthcare ethics, recognize key legal issues and legislation related to healthcare ethics, identify unique ethical challenges in rural healthcare, and know how clinicians and ethics committees can access resources to integrate ethics into healthcare while understanding who oversees ethical practices.
Understand the role of organizational ethics and culture, analyze the consequences of failing an ethics audit, evaluate actions based on audit results, and apply the ethics audit process in organizations.
Analyze an ethics committee's requirements, purpose, and responsibilities, evaluate an organization’s role in ensuring its success, and identify the benefits of having an ethics committee.
Analyze the role of an ethics committee, distinguish between the ethics committee and ethics consultation, explain the requirements for an ethics committee, evaluate how to address competencies, and develop strategies to ensure core competencies are met.
Analyze the role of an ethics consultant, develop strategies to ensure core competencies, identify characteristics of effective consultations, and explain the required competencies for ethics consultants.
Understand what constitutes an ethical patient safety culture, analyze how the standard of care influences safety culture, identify three steps to creating a safety culture, and explain the benefits of TeamSTEPPS® in enhancing patient safety.
Understand the common types of ethics consultations, identify who should perform them, discuss how they should be conducted, and examine organizational considerations for effective ethics consultations.
Explain what comprises an ethics consultation, identify its goals, and contrast different frameworks used for conducting an ethics consultation.
Define the composition of the Institutional Review Board (IRM), explain its role and purpose, and identify the responsibilities of the IRB.

Course Summary

Available CME credits:

2.00 hours of Category 1-A CME provided by the American Osteopathic Association

2.00 hours of PRA Category 1 Credits ™ provided by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education

Enrollment is open.
Access to this online course is available on demand. The learner will be provided 90 days from payment to complete the certificate. Digital acknowledgment is sent upon completion, and VCOM will send a completion certificate to all learners.
Official reporting of the certificate to the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) will be reported in four-month intervals and for the ACCME annually. The certificate may be utilized for CME self-reporting for other medical specialists.
Course Opens: 07/01/2025
Course Expires: 07/30/2028
Cost: $ 100.00

CME Accreditation

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), and the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine.

AOA

The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) designates this enduring material for a maximum of 2.00 AOA Category 1-A Credits. It will report CME and specialty credits commensurate with the extent of the physician’s participation in this activity.

ACCME

The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of the physician’s participation in this activity.

Disclaimers

Completing this certificate does not correlate to a state or national licensure for a health board or medical specialty association.
Completing this certificate does not equate to any academic credit for degree completion.
Utilization of this VCOM online (enduring materials) course does not indicate nor guarantee competence or proficiency in any procedures or suggested therapies that may be in the course.
Due to the nature of the information provided in the certificate, which is dictated by state or governmental agencies, please contact your state medical board and current employment guide to verify updated medical guidelines and mandates.

Disclosures

There have been no disclosures or relationships in the last 24 months with any ineligible company to present to the planning committee or faculty.

Planning Committee: Deborah West, EdD; Paula Shipper, EdD; Kathy Gennuso, MS. DHCE, MSBLE; Rich Gennuso
Faculty: Kathy Gennuso, MS. DHCE, MSBLE; Gregory Dobar, MA, MA

Acknowledgment of Commercial Support

No commercial support was received in the production of this activity.

About EthAssist

The Institute of Consultative Bioethics (ICBioethics) provides comprehensive training and knowledge delivery platform, EthAssist®, and consulting services that support health care, other highly regulated industries, and academic organizations. The Institute of Consultative Bioethics delivers unique content that provides knowledge and ethics training for any healthcare organization's students or staff affected by healthcare compliance, patient safety, and patient-centered care.

ICBioethics Faculty

Dr. Kathy Detar Gennuso, MS, DHCE, MSBLE, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of The Institute of Consultative Bioethics (ICBioethics)

Education:

DHCE, Doctorate in Healthcare Ethics – Duquesne University
MS, Business Leadership and Ethics – Duquesne University
BS, Library and Information Science – University of Pittsburgh
Certificate - Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurship

Affiliations

Institution – Institute of Consultative Bioethics
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM)
University of Wisconsin
Kettering Health System

Award

Recipient of the 2022 Leadership Award from Health 2.0.

Greg Dober, MA, Contributor and Consultant