The Value of Bioethics Education

I was still deciding what I wanted to do with my life when I found bioethics. I graduated from college in 1995 with a degree in secondary science education and began a career as a middle-school science teacher on the island of Oahu. A few years later I had a strong feeling that as a person and a student I was not yet complete. This need for fulfillment and my various interests took me on a search into numerous fields of study. I cannot remember how I came upon bioethics. I think I read a newspaper article that mentioned the subject and piqued my interest, so I also began searching for bioethics programs. As I learned more about the multidisciplinary nature of bioethics, I became more interested in the field.

Meanwhile, I had moved to Southern California, and my time was taken up with teaching and taking education classes for state certification. The idea of leaving a semi-well-paying job to venture into an area of study none of my family or colleagues had heard of was daunting. What also troubled me was that I had not come up with a valid reason to study bioethics. Just because it sounded interesting was not compelling, and if I was going to decide to pursue a field of study, I wanted to know what I could do with the ensuing degree.

Then I found a happy compromise. Through Internet searches I had found the Center for the Study of Bioethics at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). It offered online courses, including those to earn a Certificate in Clinical Bioethics. This gave me the opportunity to continue teaching and get an introduction to the field. My sixth year as a teacher was also my first as a part-time distance learner.

I took Clinical Topics in Bioethics and Justice and Health Care during my first semester. I proved to myself that I could handle graduate level course work. More important, I was so drawn to the topics and what I had learned that I knew I wanted to continue to study bioethics and share my knowledge.

As more topics that belonged under the heading of bioethics, such as cloning and preimplantation genetic diagnosis, began presenting themselves in my classroom, I realized how much more I needed to learn to be able to teach the subject well and do justice to the issues. I could not teach what I did not know, and I was inclined to teach bioethics.

I knew I wanted to pursue full-time study in bioethics after my first set of online classes. I took the remainder of the certificate classes in the spring while I also applied to the graduate school at MCW. I was accepted and moved to the city of Milwaukee. My year as a full-time master's student taught me the value of bioethics education.

I quickly realized that the degree alone would not get me a job. Using what I had learned while teaching would allow me to contribute to the field. My thesis project, "Promoting Bioethics in Secondary Schools: Justification and Content of an Effective Curriculum" (2002), allowed me to use my undergraduate and professional training along with my new appreciation of bioethics. I was able to produce a project that justified the importance of teaching bioethics due in large part to the strong curriculum that I had experienced.

The education provided by the bioethics program at MCW was a well-rounded foundation in the practice, methods, and theories of bioethics. I was encouraged to take advantage of clinical opportunities, and I actively participated in the Center's consultation service. I learned to effectively articulate my thoughts and became comfortable speaking and writing about bioethical issues. I learned enough to teach bioethics, and I acquired skills I can use to practice bioethics in a variety of settings.

Each class I took opened new doors of thought and introduced new questions to contemplate. Education...