Fall Courses 2024:
BIOE 5101
Instructors: Paola Nicolas, PhD; Jessica Rosh, JD, Lauren Flicker, JD, Mindy Statter, MD; Danielle Spencer, PhD
Description:
This year-long course can be taken independently to earn a Certificate and/or as required coursework for the Master of Science in Bioethics. Faculty collaborate with students in a combination of two full-day retreats and weekly seminars to offer an intellectually rich year introducing the foundations of bioethics as a field, key principles in moral theory, methods of legal and literary analysis, and the skills necessary to apply the insights of bioethics to daily medical practice and research. We examine core bioethics issues using a multiplicity of perspectives and draw upon the depth of expertise not only of faculty but also of our participants, many of whom bring years of clinical, legal and other professional experience to the program.
Time: Wednesdays 4-7pm, online
Prerequisites: None
Credit 3
BIOE 5306*
Instructors: Angela Rossetti, MBE
Description:
Drug therapy has always been integral to the practice of medicine, from the earliest use of botanicals to contemporary biopharmaceuticals. In the last 125 years, drug therapy has evolved to a more than trillion-dollar industry and now occupies a uniquely important role in global public health. Because of its size and importance to human health and well-being, the industry carries a significant ethical responsibility. Most recently, the Covid pandemic and its consequences highlighted the dependence of the world on a global, well-functioning biopharmaceutical industry. The work of drug discovery, development and accessible distribution is expensive. No government has demonstrated the willingness, scientific or financial ability to undertake the that work alone, and governments rely largely upon the biopharmaceutical industry for many aspects of drug availability. This class will examine the history and origins of the commercial biopharmaceutical industry, its continuous evolution and regulation, the drivers of its growth, its missteps, its successes, and its ethics that all combined, have changed the course of human disease.
Time: Tuesdays 4-6pm, online
Prerequisites: Certificate program
Credit 2
BIOE 5101
Instructors: Lauren Flicker, JD; Carolyn Neuhaus, PhD; Danielle Spencer, PhD
Description:
This year-long course can be taken independently to earn a Certificate and/or as required coursework for the Master of Science in Bioethics. Faculty collaborate with students in a combination of two full-day retreats and weekly seminars to offer an intellectually rich year introducing the foundations of bioethics as a field, key principles in moral theory, methods of legal and literary analysis, and the skills necessary to apply the insights of bioethics to daily medical practice and research. We examine core bioethics issues using a multiplicity of perspectives and draw upon the depth of expertise not only of faculty but also of our participants, many of whom bring years of clinical, legal and other professional experience to the program.
Time: Thursdays 4-7pm, online
Prerequisites: None
Credit 3
BIOE 5331
Instructor: Paola Nicolas, PhD, MS Bioethics
Description:
What does philosophy bring to clinical practice? This class is an exploration of philosophical themes in Western tradition – identity, memory, death, dignity of risk, etc. – that can shed a new light on the clinical encounter. We will study texts from philosophy, sociology, anthropology and narrative medicine to have a better understanding of the process of hospitalization, from the patient’s arrival at the hospital, to diagnosis and treatment, and ending with the person’s release from the hospital or death.
Time: Mondays 4-6pm, online
Prerequisites: Certificate program
Credit 2
Winter 2025
BIOE 5201
Instructors: Flicker, Hulkower
Description:
This 4 day intensive course typically meets in January. Drawing upon the decades of experience of Montefiore’s Bioethics Consultation service, the faculty of the Montefiore Einstein Center for Bioethics will cover selected topics from the ASBH's Core Competencies. The course will help students develop communication skills, master the process of bioethics consultation and gain practical experience in approaching ethical dilemmas in clinical medicine. This course is designed for those seeking clinical training in bioethics consultation. It may be taken on its own or as part of the Masters’ Program.
Time/Dates: January 6-10, 2025, online (Monday - Thursday, 9 AM - 5 PM; Friday, 9 AM - 1 PM)
Prerequisites: Certificate program or instructor permission.
Credit 2
Spring 2025
BIOE 5328
Course Director: Paola Nicolas, PhD MBE HEC-C
Description:
In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on the prevalence of implicit bias in health care delivery in the United States. This course explores how gender studies can help to identify institutionalized sex and gender-based violence and to improve medical care for women and LGBTQ communities. We will read major figures in the field (Beauvoir, Lorde, bell hooks, Vivek Shraya, etc.) in dialogue with the most recent medical publications where sex & gender disparities of treatment are documented (pain-management, CVD, etc.) Among others, topics such as intersectionality, women of other cultures, domestic violence and rape will be addressed. We will discuss how to integrate those issues in medical education and medical training.
Time/Dates: Dates: January-April 2025 (Mondays, 4-6 PM)
Credit 2
BIOE 5324
Course Director: Lauren Flicker, JD MS HEC-C
Description:
This course will explore the ethical implications of court cases that impact patient care. We will approach topics including reproductive rights, death and dying, vaccination, and access to healthcare. We will approach these topics using amicus briefs and court cases. Grades will be determined by class participation, short writing assignments, and a final exam.
Time/Dates:January-April 2025 (Tuesdays, 4-6 PM)
Credit 2
Summer Semester 2024
BIOE 5200
Instructors:
Description:
This four-five day course in January is an intensive seminar taught by national leaders in bioethics mediation. Mediation is a vital tool for managing and resolving conflicts between and among healthcare staff and families. Mediation helps all parties to articulate their values and acknowledges the perspectives of all participants. The course covers essential techniques through role-plays, brief lectures, exercises, and intensive individual feedback.
Time: Mon-Friday, full day classes, each January.
Prerequisites: permission of instructor
Credit 2
BIOE 5305
Instructors: Elizabeth Chuang, with Center for Bioethics Faculty
Description:
The seminar is open to all Masters in Bioethics students and students enrolled in the Einstein Clinical Research Training Program. Topics include: informed consent for research, risk-benefit analysis, biobanking, undue inducements, therapeutic misconception, deception and debriefing, research integrity, multinational research, public health research, and research protections for vulnerable populations. Additional emerging topics may include: return of unanticipated research results; regulatory issues in quality improvement activities/learning healthcare systems; newer research designs such as comparative effectiveness and adaptive trials; use of genetic data; waivers for consent; and the use of the electronic medical record and big data in research.
Time/Place: Class will meet online or at Einstein – (check with Professor Chuang for current logistics), twice weekly for 4 weeks in the summer.
Prerequisites: Certificate program or instructor permission.
Credit 2
BIOE 5203
Instructor: Edward Reichman, MD
Description:
Judaism is one of the world’s oldest religions with a rich heritage and an expansive legal literary tradition dating back to the times of the Bible and Talmud. Judaism has a unique approach to medical ethical dilemmas that can contribute to modern ethical discourse. This course will provide students with a basic introduction to the principles of Jewish law as they relate to medical ethics. These principles will then be applied to issues in contemporary medical ethics ranging from beginning of life to end of life. Topics analyzed will include abortion, contraception, infertility, genetics, cloning, organ transplantation, the definition of death, autopsy and stem cell research. In addition, new frontiers in science and medicine will be explored through the lens of Jewish law. The contribution of principles of Jewish medical ethics to the broader dialogue of modern bioethics will be discussed. Readings will be drawn from ancient rabbinic texts, as well as modern authors on Jewish bioethics. Emphasis will be placed on textual analysis of primary and secondary sources (in English translation) culled from over two thousand years of rabbinic literature. This intensive course typically meets on 4 consecutive Wednesdays during the summer.
Time/Place: Wednesdays, full days, summer, usually July
Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor.
Credit 2
BIOE 5400
Instructors: Appropriate to the student’s project
Description:
This course is a fundamental requirement for the masters’ degree. Students submit a proposal, then work toward research, writing and revision for an extended project, under the guidance of an advisor in the relevant field, selected from the faculty of Cardozo, Einstein or rarely and with permission, external faculty. A student may register for all 4 credits in one semester, or for 2 credits each in two consecutive semesters.
Credit 4, divided over 2 semesters or all in one semester
BIOE 5903
Instructors: TBD
Description:
This course provides an opportunity for MS Bioethics students to design and participate in a semester-long, seminar-style independent study, under the supervision of a faculty advisor, with significant reading and writing assignments. As with all independent studies, the student needs to choose a faculty member to help devise the project and then have the proposal approved by the Center.
Credit 1-2
Previous/Future Courses
BIOE 5206
Instructors: TBD
Description:
This course is designed to be a gateway into the challenging ethical dilemmas that healthcare professionals encounter in their daily practice. In the rapidly evolving landscape of healthcare in the United States, the role of ethics consultation services has become increasingly critical. The complex and often morally fraught decisions that healthcare professionals, patients, and their families face demand a level of ethical guidance and expertise that extends beyond traditional medical expertise. Ethics consultation services have emerged as a vital resource to address these complex dilemmas and ensure that healthcare decisions are not only medically sound but also ethically defensible. The field of clinical ethics has witnessed a substantial transformation over the years, with institutions across the country increasingly integrating ethics consultation services into their healthcare systems. The establishment of professional standards, guidelines, and certification programs for clinical ethics consultants has further advanced the quality of services provided. By examining real-world cases, this class will provide the tools to offer clinical ethical consultations. The issues covered in this class are not exhaustive, but are designed to be an introduction to the current methods for approaching clinical ethics cases.
Credit 1-2
BIOE 5310
Instructors: TBD
Description:
The course will focus on ethical issues as they relate to children. Beginning with an exploration of what it means to be a child in America and the unique kinship relationships and obligations engendered by the decision to have a child, the course will focus on ethical issues in labor, delivery, and neonatal care, current controversies in caring for a dying child and his family, ethical issues concerning adolescents, research ethics as it relates to children, and issues about surgical and medical enhancement of children. Students will be expected to read assigned materials and be prepared to discuss relevant ethical questions during each session. Each student will choose a relevant topic of interest and develop a 3000-5000 word essay that will describe the issue and elucidate the ethical concerns utilizing and citing peer-reviewed literature.
Credit 1-2
BIOE 5315
Instructors: TBD
Description:
This course will explore legal and ethical issues raised by reproduction and the use of assisted reproductive technologies. We will study legal theory and practice involving contraception, assisted reproduction, abortion, sterilization, and personhood. We will approach these topics using a wide range of sources, including legal cases, historical scholarship, and bioethics literature. Grades will be determined by class participation and a final paper.
Credit 1-2
BIOE 5318:
Instructors: TBD
Description:
The course explores a range of ethical issues arising from dementia, including diagnosis, treatment, research, and health policies. The course begins by studying definitions of different types of dementia and related states, such as minimal cognitive impairment and cognitive aging. Topics include: neuropathology of dementia, as well as current trends – and failures -- in research for dementia treatments; factors that increase and decrease the probability of developing dementia, including social determinants of health; caregiver burdens and stressors; abuse, neglect and financial scams affecting those with cognitive impairment; safe driving and public health concerns; use of technology to support independent living; nursing home quality and functions; and end of life care for severe dementia. For each topic, the class will identify and analyze related ethical challenges related to dementia.
Credit 1-2
BIOE 5322
Instructors: TBD
Description:
The course will explore images of mental illness from the nineteenth century to the present. We will use materials from the psychiatric literature, news accounts, fiction, biographies, film, and patient narratives. Key themes include: what is mental illness? How have health professionals responded to those with mental illness over time? How do institutions like police and schools impact mental illness? How does stigma related to mental illness overlap with other sources of stigma, including poverty, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity? What are ongoing ethics challenges in supporting those with mental illness?
Credit 1-2
BIOE 5323
Instructors: TBD
Description:
In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on the prevalence of implicit bias in health care delivery in the United States. This course explore how gender studies can help to identify institutionalized sex and gender-based violence and to improve medical care for women and LGBTQ communities. We will read major figures in the field (Beauvoir, Lorde, bell hooks, Vivek Shraya, etc) in dialogue with the most recent medical publications where sex & gender disparities of treatment are documented (pain-management, CVD, etc.) Among others, topics such as intersectionality, women of other cultures, domestic violence and rape will be addressed. We will discuss how to integrate those issues in medical education and medical training.
Credit 1-2
BIOE 5324
Instructors: TBD
Description:
This course will explore the ethical implications of court cases that impact patient care. We will approach topics including reproductive rights, death and dying, vaccination, and access to healthcare. We will approach these topics using amicus briefs and court cases. Grades will be determined by class participation, short writing assignments, and a final exam.
Credit 1-2
BIOE 5326
Instructors: TBD
Description:
In this class, we will address how peoples values surrounding death are sometimes in contrast with the reality of dying in America. We will articulate the many different definitions of death and consider how those different definitions can create ethical conflict. We will consider the role that medical professionals can and do play at the end of life.
Credit 1-2
BIOE 5328
Instructors: TBD
Description:
In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on the prevalence of implicit bias in health care delivery in the United States. This course explores how gender studies can help to identify institutionalized sex and gender-based violence and to improve medical care for women and LGBTQ communities. We will read major figures in the field (Beauvoir, Lorde, bell hooks, Vivek Shraya, etc.) in dialogue with the most recent medical publications where sex & gender disparities of treatment are documented (pain-management, CVD, etc.) Among others, topics such as intersectionality, women of other cultures, domestic violence and rape will be addressed. We will discuss how to integrate those issues in medical education and medical training.
Credit 1-2
BIOE 5330
Instructors: TBD
Description:
Skill in bioethics includes the ability to draft and present an effective argument. The goal of the course is for students to improve their ability to write about bioethics and share their expertise in public discussions about ethics issues in medicine, public health and policy. The skills developed in writing a persuasive essay are transferable in describing ethics issues to patients and colleagues in clinical practice. Participants will read and analyze short persuasive works from different genres. The class requires frequent writing exercises of different types of essays, including blogs and editorials. Students will receive personalized feedback both from the instructor and through group work in editing. The final product will be the draft of an essay to submit for publication; these essays will be presented for discussion and revision during class.
Credit 1-2
BIOE 5401/5402
Instructors: TBD
Description:
This course is a fundamental requirement for the masters’ degree. Students submit a proposal, then work toward research, writing and revision for an extended project under the guidance of an advisor in the relevant field, selected from the faculty of Einstein or, rarely and with permission, external faculty. A student may register for all 6 credits in one semester, or for (4 plus 2) credits each in two consecutive semesters.
Credit 1-2
BIOE 5903
Instructors: TBD
Description:
This course provides an opportunity for MS Bioethics students to design and participate in a semester-long, seminar-style independent study, under the supervision of a faculty advisor, with significant reading and writing assignments. As with all independent studies, the student needs to choose a faculty member to help devise the project and then have the proposal approved by the Center.
Credit 1-2
BIOE 205
Instructors: TBD
Description:
The course will address a broad range of ethics issues within both the current pandemic and those from the past and potentially ahead in the future. We will examine classic bioethics literature setting out the tensions between obligations to individual patients and to the health of populations. We will review guidance documents prepared by various national and international groups, looking at overarching similarities and differences. We will address the way in which public health disasters affect various vulnerable groups, including minorities, elders, and prisoners. We will investigate the ethical responsibilities of government, individuals and institutions in pandemic response. Readings offer a broad range of perspectives, including classical accounts of plague, current medical, legal and public health publications.
Credit 1-2
BIOE 206
Instructors: TBD
Description:
This course can be taken independently, or as a follow-up to Bioethics in the Court. In this seminar, students will study legislation that dictates the behavior or speech of clinicians. Students will learn how to read statutes, and be asked to consider when it is appropriate for the legislature to interfere in the clinic, and what to recommend as an ethicists when the legally required action is not consistent with the ethical action.
Credit 1-2
