The Pressing Need for Postdoctoral Research Ethics Education

I agree with Arri Eisen and Roberta Berry (2002), that research ethics education has been overlooked in the biosciences and that it should be made an integral feature in the education of bioscientists. This is particularly true in the case of training postdoctoral fellows. Yet, Eisen and Berry may not notice that professionalism education is required at this stage as well. Furthermore, the kind of education that is needed is significantly different from mere communication of knowledge, and it requires special methods to accomplish its unique goals.

The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy recently issued a report, Enhancing the Postdoctoral Experience for Scientists and Engineers (2000). It reveals that nationally 50% of postdoctoral fellows come from outside the United States and that half of the foreign fellows, primarily those from outside western Europe, remain in the United States after their fellowship training ends. According to the report, foreign fellows experience serious challenges related specifically to differences in language and culture. The report also pointedly identifies the disparity in the views of foreign fellows on issues related to the ethical conduct of research.

Although the report does not go so far as to call for required courses in research ethics, it does declare, as its first principle, that "The postdoctoral experience is first and foremost a period of apprenticeship for the purpose of gaining scientific, technical, and other professional skills that advance the professional career" (emphasis in original). And, as its first recommendation for advisers, the report states that "The advisers of postdocs have the responsibility to provide a postdoctoral experience that is fundamentally educational in nature" (emphasis in original). Furthermore, in its detailed discussion of the adviser's responsibilities, the report provides a detailed list of the ethical and proprietary issues that the adviser should discuss "early and often, especially with new postdocs and with postdocs from countries where standards may differ." Among the topics that the report identifies as especially important in postdoctoral education are: authorship policy, plagiarism, presentation of results, integrity of data, data management, conflict of interest, the use of human subjects, the use of animals, conflict resolution, whistle blowing, and the broad issues of responsible conduct of research and the trust that must be part of the scientific enterprise.

Compliance with ethical standards is a serious problem in research. We are all familiar with well-publicized breaches in research ethics that undermine society's trust in the practice of science and the use of human subjects in particular (Anderson 1993a; 1993b; 1994; Beardsley 1992; Porter 1998; Shapiro and Charrow 1985; Stolberg 1999; Zylke 1989). People who know the rules that others have laid down are likely to abide by them when it is convenient to do so. But, so long as individuals themselves do not acknowledge their importance and endorse the rules, they are also likely to violate them as soon as the burdens of compliance become inconvenient or the rewards of noncompliance become alluring. Scrupulously vigilant oversight is one way of addressing the compliance problem. It carries burdens of intrusiveness and costs of implementation. Inculcation of values is a far less burdensome and a far more reliable solution to the problem. The development of ethical awareness and moral commitment in postdoctoral fellows through carefully structured education can help them to appreciate and accept the principles and standards of research ethics as their own. Yet, the vast majority of postdoctoral fellows across the nation have had little or nothing by way of previous formal education in research ethics. Because postdoctoral programs have neither recognized nor confronted this important need, there are no courses in research ethics specifically tailored to the educational needs of this population.

Postdoctoral fellows work in almost every biomedical science research laboratory in U.S. academic institutions. Through their involvement in research we trust postdoctoral fellows to conduct experiments, to collect and record data, to work with hazardous materials, to handle and sacrifice animals, and to use tissue, samples, and information from human subjects. And when they complete their postdoctoral training (typically after five years) and venture out...