Clinical Ethicist

Location:

Geisinger Office Building I (GOB I)

Shift:

Days (United States of America)

Scheduled Weekly Hours:

40

Worker Type:

Regular

Exemption Status:

Yes

Job Summary:

Geisinger is recruiting a full-time clinical ethicist to contribute to improving the ethics quality of patient care through clinical ethics consultation, education, policy development, and other initiatives. The successful candidate will join the clinical ethics team and bioethics and decision sciences researchers in the Department of Bioethics and Decision Sciences in the Geisinger College of Health Sciences.

The candidate is expected to be appointed in Geisinger’s College of Health Sciences at the rank of Instructor, with the possibility of a higher rank depending on the candidate’s qualifications. The successful candidate will report directly to the chief bioethics officer and chair of the Department of Bioethics and Decision Sciences, with additional accountability to the associate chief, clinical ethics. Candidates with preferred qualifications (see below) have the potential for later advancement into a leadership role within the clinical ethics service.

Job Duties:

• Independently conducts ethics consultations across the system in response to requests and as required by Geisinger policies.
• With the clinical ethics team, tracks and evaluates the conduct of ethics consultations on a system-wide and platform-by-platform basis.
• Collaborates with physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, care/case managers, clinical social workers, chaplains and other members of health care team to design, implement and evaluate preventive ethics initiatives and initiatives to improve the ethics quality of care.
• Designs and delivers clinical ethics education for undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education learners, as well as for targeted clinician populations to close knowledge and skill gaps. 
• Supports hospital ethics committees by identifying the educational needs of committee members, identifying and acting on programmatic opportunities for broader, more direct committee engagement in the clinical enterprise, and assessing the efficacy of committees as forces for change and improvement in the ethics culture of hospitals and in the advancement of patient care quality.
• Helps develop, implement, monitor, and revise system policies related to clinical ethics.
• Engages in independent and collaborative scholarship in the area of clinical ethics
• Plays a lead role in identifying, assessing, and responding to system-based educational needs that emerge through the recognition and analysis of consult request patterns; leads the design and implementation of needs-responsive  education/training interventions. (PhD level only)
• Leads clinical ethics team-based efforts to identify and capitalize on opportunities for scholarship in clinical ethics consultation and education, as well as policy development, revision, implementation, and assessment. (PhD Level Only)
• Helps to oversee departmental grand rounds, including identifying speakers, overseeing marketing and dissemination, and liaising with the CME office. (PhD Level Only)
• Designs and delivers clinical ethics education for undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education learners, as well as for targeted clinician populations to close knowledge and skill gaps. (PhD Level Only)

Work is typically performed in office and clinical environments (i.e., hospitals and out-patient clinics). Accountable for satisfying all job specific obligations and complying with all organization policies and procedures. The specific statements in this profile are not intended to be all-inclusive. They represent typical elements considered necessary to successfully perform the job.

Position Details:

Required qualifications:

• Masters degree in a relevant field
• Formal fellowship training in clinical ethics (preferred) or significant clinical ethics consultation experience
• HEC-C certification (or to be obtained within first year of hire)
• Extensive experience in clinical ethics/professionalism education
• Excellent oral and written communication skills

Preferred qualifications:

• PhD or other terminal degree in a relevant field or discipline
• Experience developing and delivering clinical ethics education to learners across multiple disciplines (e.g., physicians, nurses) and/or learning stages (e.g., undergraduate, graduate, continuing education)
• Experience successfully applying for and executing internal and external programmatic grants
• History of scholarship or research in clinical ethics or related fields

Salary and benefits are competitive. Relocation expenses are available. The preferred location for this position is Danville, PA, but the ethicist can live anywhere in Geisinger’s catchment area of central and northeast PA and some travel within that area is required for this role. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. The start date is asap (but flexible) and the position will remain open until it is filled.

About the Department of Bioethics and Decision Sciences

The Department of Bioethics and Decision Sciences is part of the Geisinger College of Health Sciences, the research and education arm of Geisinger, while also deeply embedded in Geisinger’s integrated health system. The department serves multiple functions spanning research, education, clinical and research ethics consultation, and system policy. The department unites faculty and staff from a wide range of disciplines and fields comprising bioethics and the decision sciences, including law, philosophy, religious studies, bioethics, cognitive science, social psychology, behavioral economics, medicine, nursing, clinical social work and public health. Learn more at https://www.geisinger.edu/gchs/research/about-gchs-research/departments-centers/bioethics-decision-sciences.

About the Geisinger College of Health Sciences

Geisinger College of Health Sciences is the research and education arm of the Geisinger family. Launched in 2022, it unifies Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Geisinger School of Nursing, Geisinger School of Graduate Education, graduate medical education, and the Research Institute.

About Geisinger

Geisinger is an integrated health system serving central and northeast Pennsylvania and headquartered in Danville, PA. Founded more than 100 years ago by Abigail Geisinger, the system now includes ten hospital campuses, more than 100 clinics, a 550,000-member health plan, two research centers and the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. With nearly 27,000 employees and more than 1,700 employed physicians, Geisinger boosts its hometown economies in Pennsylvania by billions of dollars annually. Learn more at https://www.geisinger.org.

Education:

Master's Degree- (Required), Doctoral Degree- (Preferred)

Experience:

Certification(s) and License(s):

Healthcare Ethics Consultant-Certified ( Hec-C) ( Upon or within one year of hire) - Default Issuing Body

Skills:

Communication, Critical Thinking, Research Regulatory Environment, Teamwork

OUR PURPOSE & VALUES: Everything we do is about caring for our patients, our members, our students, our Geisinger family and our communities.

• KINDNESS: We strive to treat everyone as we would hope to be treated ourselves.
• EXCELLENCE: We treasure colleagues who humbly strive for excellence.
• LEARNING: We share our knowledge with the best and brightest to better prepare the caregivers for tomorrow.
• INNOVATION: We constantly seek new and better ways to care for our patients, our members, our community, and the nation.
• SAFETY: We provide a safe environment for our patients and members and the Geisinger family. 

We offer healthcare benefits for full time and part time positions from day one, including vision, dental and domestic partners. Perhaps just as important, we encourage an atmosphere of collaboration, cooperation and collegiality.

We know that a diverse workforce with unique experiences and backgrounds makes our team stronger. Our patients, members and community come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and it takes a diverse workforce to make better health easier for all.  We are proud to be an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment regardless to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran.