Program Manager

Michigan Medicine; Ann Arbor (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

The Clinical Ethicist at Michigan Medicine serves as the primary intake contact for clinical ethics consultation requests arising from adult and pediatric inpatient and outpatient settings. The role combines clinical consultation, program development, education, committee service, and scholarly responsibilities.

Michigan Bioethics is housed within the CHHASSEM, a multidisciplinary center within the Medical School.

Qualifications

• Master's degree or equivalent in bioethics or related field.
• Direct experience participating in clinical ethics consultation.
• Direct experience serving on a hospital or health system ethics committee.
• Ability to identify and communicate about complex ethical issues in clinical care.
• Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
• Familiarity with ASBH Core Competencies for Healthcare Ethics Consultation.
• Eligibility for HEC-C certification within one year of appointment.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary intake contact for ethics consultations during regular business hours.
• Gather and document relevant clinical, ethical, psychosocial, and contextual information.
• Conduct an initial ethical analysis in collaboration with the Clinical Ethics Service faculty.
• Coordinate meetings with patients, families, clinical teams, and other participants.
• Prepare draft consultation analyses and documentation for review by faculty ethicists.
• Enter final consultation notes in the patient’s electronic health record after approval.
• Coordinate follow-up activities and promote continuity across consultations.
• Support consultations across adult and pediatric inpatient and outpatient settings.
• Organize and participate in proactive ethics rounds and interprofessional discussions.
• Educate faculty, staff, trainees, and learners about clinical ethics and education programs.
• Contribute to policy development and scholarly activities in ethics.

Skills

Ethics consultation experience

Communication skills

Interdisciplinary collaboration

Analytical reasoning

Policy & education development

Education

Master's degree in bioethics or related field

Job description

Job Summary

The Clinical Ethicist serves as the primary intake contact for clinical ethics consultation requests arising from Michigan Medicine's adult and pediatric inpatient and outpatient settings. The position combines clinical consultation, program development, education, committee service, and scholarly responsibilities.

The Clinical Ethics Service promotes ethical and patient-centered care through a comprehensive range of ethics-related activities.

The service:

• Provides clinical ethics consultation in collaboration with faculty ethicists
• Supports Michigan Medicine's adult and pediatric ethics committees
• Contributes proactively to the development and review of ethics-related policies
• Develops and delivers clinical ethics education
• Mentors predoctoral ethics fellows and other learners
• Participates in research and scholarship relevant to clinical ethics

The Clinical Ethicist works under the clinical direction of Clinical Ethics Service faculty and in collaboration with an interdisciplinary group of faculty ethicists and committee members.

Michigan Bioethics is housed within the Center for History, Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Ethics in Medicine (CHHASSEM), a multidisciplinary center within the Medical School. Its mission is to use interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary approaches to improve health and make health care practice, policy, and work more just, equitable, and humane. Core to Michigan Bioethics is the Clinical Ethics Service, which provides ethics-related services to the patients, families, and clinicians within Michigan Medicine.

Responsibilities*

Clinical Ethics Consultation

• Serve as the primary intake contact for clinical ethics consultation requests during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.?5:00 p.m.
• Respond to calls to the ethics consultation line and remain available by hospital pager during designated hours.
• Gather and document relevant clinical, ethical, psychosocial, and contextual information.
• Conduct an initial ethical analysis in collaboration with Clinical Ethics Service faculty.
• Coordinate meetings with patients, families, surrogate decision-makers, clinical teams, and other participants as appropriate.
• Prepare draft consultation analyses and documentation for review by faculty ethicists and, when appropriate, ethics committee members.
• Incorporate feedback and, following approval by the supervising faculty ethicist, enter the final consultation note in the patient's electronic health record.
• Coordinate follow-up activities, promote continuity across consultations, and facilitate referrals to other services as needed.
• Support consultations across adult and pediatric inpatient and outpatient settings.

Proactive Ethics Rounds and Staff Support

• Organize and participate in proactive ethics rounds throughout Michigan Medicine, including regularly scheduled rounds in intensive care units and other clinical units or ambulatory settings.
• Facilitate interprofessional case discussions to support the early identification and thoughtful resolution of ethical concerns.
• Help clinical teams recognize and address moral distress and related ethical challenges.
• Coordinate or facilitate scheduled and on-request ethics debriefing sessions for clinical units and other groups.

Education and Mentorship

• Mentor predoctoral ethics fellows and other learners rotating with the Clinical Ethics Service.
• Educate Michigan Medicine faculty, staff, trainees, and learners about clinical ethics, ethical decision-making, and the role of the Clinical Ethics Service.
• Develop, coordinate, and deliver structured educational programs in clinical ethics.
• Contribute to case conferences, presentations, workshops, and other educational activities.

Ethics Committee Service

• Attend meetings of Michigan Medicine's adult and pediatric ethics committees.
• Present consultation cases and facilitate committee discussions when cases are scheduled for review.
• Support committee projects, policy review, educational activities, and other initiatives.

Policy Development

• Contribute to the development, review, and implementation of institutional policies involving ethical issues in patient care.
• Identify emerging or recurring ethical concerns that may warrant policy guidance, educational intervention, or additional institutional review.
• Collaborate with clinical, legal, administrative, and other institutional partners as appropriate.

Research and Scholarship

• Support theoretical and empirical research related to clinical ethics, ethics education, and decision science.
• Collaborate with faculty and research teams in planning, implementing, coordinating, and reporting project activities.
• As appropriate, assist with data collection and verification, data management, data analysis, and interpretation of findings.
• Contribute to abstracts, manuscripts, presentations, and other scholarly products.
• Present work at regional, national, or international professional meetings, as appropriate.

Required Qualifications*

• A master's degree or equivalent advanced degree in bioethics, philosophy, social work, behavioral health, social science, spiritual care, or a closely related field.
• Direct experience participating in clinical ethics consultation.
• Direct experience serving on a hospital or health system ethics committee.
• Demonstrated ability to identify, analyze, and communicate about complex ethical issues in clinical care.
• Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively and respectfully with patients, families, health care professionals, trainees, and leaders from varied disciplines and backgrounds.
• Ability to manage sensitive and potentially urgent consultations with sound judgment, professionalism, discretion, and attention to detail.
• Familiarity with the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Core Competencies for Healthcare Ethics Consultation.
• Eligibility for the Healthcare Ethics Consultant-Certified credential, with the ability to obtain HEC-C certification within one year of appointment.

Desired Qualifications*

• Current Healthcare Ethics Consultant-Certified certification.
• Advanced training in clinical ethics consultation.
• Experience providing ethics consultation in both adult and pediatric settings.
• Experience developing or delivering clinical ethics education.
• Experience mentoring students, fellows, trainees, or other learners.
• Experience with social science research methods, including survey research and qualitative methods.
• Experience collecting, managing, analyzing, and interpreting quantitative or qualitative data.
• A record of scholarship or professional presentations related to clinical ethics, bioethics, ethics education, or a related field.
• Experience contributing to health care policy development or review.

Modes of Work

This position is required to work on-site during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.?5:00 p.m., and is based out of an office at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital.

Additional Information

Michigan Medicine is committed to recruiting, developing, and retaining a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve in Michigan and around the world. We strive to foster a work environment in which every team member is respected, valued, supported, and able to contribute fully.

Background Screening

Michigan Medicine conducts background screening and pre-employment drug testing on job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent job offer and may use a third party administrator to conduct background screenings. Background screenings are performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Report Act. Pre-employment drug testing applies to all selected candidates, including new or additional faculty and staff appointments, as well as transfers from other U-M campuses.

Application Deadline

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days. The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled any time after the minimum posting period has ended.

U-M EEO Statement

The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.