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History
In 1986 faculty members of Ruhr-University
founded the Zentrum für Medizinische Ethik. The Center is a non-profit
tax-exempt institution and serves as a research, teaching and consulting center
in issues of applied ethics, especially in clinical ethics and bioethics. The
Center specializes in developing practical instruments for moral assessment of
cases and scenarios in biomedical research and patient care.
The CHIRON is
the Center's logo. According to Greek mythology, Chiron, the most prudent among
the centaurs, educated Aesculap in the arts and sciences of medicine.
Research
The research program of the Center for
Medical Ethics is based on the scholarly interests of the faculty members; it
includes independent and contract research. Special competence is in the fields
of Moral Assessment in patient care, allocation, clinical research, and
regulation.
- Bochum Protocol for Ethical Medical Practice, a 'Points to Consider..' list
for value evaluation and quality of life assessment in patient care, translated
into 8 languages.
- Case Study Workshops, specializing in methodological issues of ethical case
analysis and scenario assessment, integrating ethical and technical
expertise
- Research Colloquia, addressing special issues of moral assessment in
medicine, technology, business, and regulation
- Ethics Committees, analysis and assessment of methods, membership, and
materials of Institutional Review Boards with emphasis on strong and efficient
integration of biomedical ethical into biomedical research.
- Teaching Material has been developed for academic teaching and continuous
education.
Teaching
Classes for medical students and
interdisciplinary studies are offered regularly at the Ruhr-University. Special
seminars and intensive courses are available on request.
Consulting
Members of the Center have consulted in various capacities to
government, professional organizations, and business on topics such as
Allocation, Clinical Research, Ethics Committees, Expertsystems, Drug Design,
Human Fertility.
Publication and Documentation
The series
"Medizinethische Materialien" has become a leading vehicle of scholarly exchange
and transfer of concepts and information in biomedical ethics in the Federal
Republic of Germany; over 190 titles have been published since 1987.
The
Thesaurus for the on-line database "bioethicsline" is available through the
Center of Medical Ethics.
International Cooperation
The Bochum Center for
Medical Ethics cooperates worldwide with research institutions such as The
Kennedy Instute of Ethics, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA, the
Chinese Society for Medical Ethics, Xian, China, and the Centro de Bioetica, La
Plata, Argentinia. |
