Bioethics

The Bioethics Department is charged with centralizing and strengthening training in ethical thought and action. While based in the School of Medicine, the Department serves as a resource for all SGU schools and programs, and for the off-campus community. It collaborates with Grenada’s Ministry of Health to explore means of providing affordable palliative care, and has worked with the Caribbean Health Resource Council to promote research ethics. The Chair of the Bioethics Department has served as the Vice President of the Bioethics Society of the Eastern Caribbean (BSEC) since it was established in May 2006. She is also an officer of the SGU IRB (Research Ethics Committee) comprised of many members of the Grenadian community. The Chair is a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Developing World Bioethics, and is a peer reviewer for several other journals. She is a member of the International Association for Bioethics (IAB).

The Bioethics Department contributes to the University through courses, Bioethics Grand Rounds, and unique events for students in the School of Medicine and other schools and programs. The Department organizes the SOM White Coat Ceremony, and the Professionalism Discussions between new students and their faculty advisors. It also coordinates the policy oriented SGU Professionalism Panel and its associated committees. The Department offers a combined MD/MSc degree in Bioethics, is developing a free standing MSc degree, and teaches a required graduate course in research ethics. Some bioethics students have published their work in peer reviewed journals and presented at conferences.

The Bioethics Department hosts internationally prominent physicians and bioethicists as Visiting Professors to teach and consult on research, education, and departmental development.