by Dr Omar Hasan Kasule MB ChB (MUK), MPH (Harvard), DrPH (Harvard) Department of Bioethics Faculty of Medicine, King Fahad Medical City
Abstract
I am happy with the write-up and recommend approval with suggested additions and improvements shown in italics.
Mission, Vision, and objectives.
The program's vision is to impact healthcare workers regarding moral issues in healthcare by training ethics teachers and leaders at the master's level. Its objectives, ethical skills and ethical knowledge, are presented as discrete specific elements. It is suggested that objectives be drafted a more holistic way to reflect the practical implication of the vision and mission statements and also to conform to the structure and time sequence of the curriculum. Statements about the target groups, program characteristics, teaching methods, and the assessment system are well written and conform to generally accepted practice.
The curriculum
The curriculum is 2 years each with 2 semesters. Each semester has a total of 8 credit hours and 4 courses. The duration and credit hour assignments are adequate for a master's program. I feel that the course offerings should, if teaching staff and resources permit, be expanded to provide the width and diversity needed at this level of training. A total of 10-15 taught courses specific to bioethics should be offered with 3-4 core and compulsory courses and the rest being electives. Among these courses should be sub-disciplines of bio-ethics. I would suggest additional courses covering the following courses: (a) Theories and Principles of Ethics (b) Methods in ethical reasoning (liberalism, communitarianism, casuistry, deontology, Kantian, feminist. Virtue, narrative, empirical, hermeunitics etc) (c) Reproductive ethics (d) Ethical issues at the beginning and end of life (e) Ethical issues in public health (e) ethical issues in health care delivery (f) ethical issues in health-related research.
Teaching methods
I am happy that students will actively participate in the teaching process by making presentations at seminars and will also write a dissertation. I suggest that even taught courses should have a big student component in case analysis or researching and presenting on specific ethics topics.
Course faculty
The program has a wide and diverse range of skills in its faculty whom I trust can deliver parts of the program successfully. Because ethics is a relatively young discipline, most of its teachers started in a different medical subspecialty and gravitated to bioethics as a hobby and eventually ending up as specialists in it. We therefore do not look for specific academic training or a research track in bioethics. The staff whose CVs are presented are not enough on their own to deliver all the program; they are busy in their main work and may not have specific competencies in some ethical areas; 15-25 more adjunct or part-time staff should be involved on a part-time basis such that each one teaches 1-3 sessions in each course.
Research
I am happy that the program has instructions on research methods. I propose that the methods taught should be geared to ethics research and that students in this program should be encouraged to undertake field research for their dissertation involving patients and caregivers about specific problems in Saudi Arabia.
