The
Honors Program in Bioethics & Professionalism
Program Coordinators: Katherine Wasson, PhD, MPH
Purpose:
The Stritch School of
Medicine (SSOM), drawing on its Jesuit and Catholic heritage, encourages the development
of the character & intellect its students and has a culture of excellence in
professionalism. SSOM has a large number of students who are active in a
self-directed curriculum related to bioethics, health policy, service to the underserved,
leadership, and professionalism. The honors program in bioethics and professionalism
asks the student to go one step further to systematically document and reflect upon this
self-directed curriculum. Those who complete this program are recognized with
departmental honors administered by the Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Health
Policy. The outstanding record of achievement of these students is recognized in the
following manners:
Expected successful completion
of the Honors program is appropriate to include in the Dean's letter recommending
the student for residency. (Students who wish this information to be included in their
letter complete the capstone project by July before his/her 4th year.)
A listing of the successful
completion of the Honors program on the student's final transcript.
Students completing the
program are recognized at graduation.
Procedure:
At the end of the first year of medical school (M-1), students who are interested in
entering the Honors in Bioethics and Professionalism program declare their intention to
pursue the program. They choose an appropriate mentor with whom they would meet at
least every six months. This mentorship involves the setting of goals related to
personal and professional development and the self-assessment and mentor assessment of the
student’s progress toward those goals. To effectively earn honors at
graduation, the student's portfolio has to include a number of required accomplishments
and an adequate number of optional achievements. For instance: (Required)
Three years of creating goals
and self-assessments (Reflections) regarding relationships to peers, faculty, other
health care professionals and society. (Student activities should comprise a total of
approximately 24 hours annually of activities relevant to the portfolio).
Completion of an honors
seminar – This one hour seminar is an introduction to doing research including
regulatory requirements such as IRB approval. Previous capstone presentations are
summarized as examples of sound work. Then, students will engage in directed readings on a
topic of special interest and determine how such issues could form the basis for more
in-depth research.
A Capstone presentation
(usually in poster form) between Junior or Senior year of some project or aspect of
bioethics or professionalism. Poster presentations are typically done in the first week of July of the fourth
year of medical school.
Suggested sources of Activity:
Participation in activities of
the Bioethics Interest Group (B.I.G.)
Participation in activities
that develop teaching skills, e.g., Tar Wars (Family Medicine), STATS (Students Teaching
AIDS to Students; an AMSA project), STEM (Support Team Effort by Medical Students;
Pediatrics), STEPS (Students teaching Pediatric Students)
Participation in Ethics Grand
Rounds, AIDS Week, Bioethics Awareness Week
Participation in
multi-profession activities
Participation in Innovations
in Leadership training
Participation in an
International Service Immersion trip
Participation in other service
activities, e.g., free clinic, volunteer work at the Community Health Center, Habitat for
Humanity, Center for Service & Global Health, etc.
Other activities approved
by the student's advisor that are equivalent in substance, mission, effort to those
listed.
Students are encouraged to suggest activities to be included to
Katie Wasson, PhD, MPH, and their advisors.
Advisors and other SSOM faculty will also occasionally put out messages through the
student portal when they are supervising current eligible activities in which students
might participate.
Complete the
Registration Form.
Send the completed form to Katie Wasson, PhD, MPH
kawasson@lumc.edu
You’ll receive an
e-mail telling you that you are enrolled. A link to the honors portfolio system will appear in MyLumen
under Student Portfolio. Click on this link.
Once
in the program...
You’ll need to enter goals related to
bioethics & professionalism at least once per year. You will be asked to look at your
goals midway through the year and revise as appropriate..
In other words, goals are not etched in stone but change as some plans become unrealistic
or new opportunities present themselves. You should enter such changes as they occur
during the year. You should try to have goals for at least two activities per year that
would sum to at least 24 hours of activity.
Reflections: This
is the heart of the program. You upload supporting materials at intervals to demonstrate
progress toward goals; such material will usually be a reflection on this work. These
reflections help you to see how you are evolving as a future member of the medical
profession. While these reflections need not be long or cumbersome, they should usually
bring together your observations of the people you served, your response to them, and the
role of the medical profession. (See reflection questions developed by Fr. Larry Reuter
and University ministry. Submitting a page or two of such reflections on an activity is
usually suitable.
Reflection on Experience 
You need not answer the
questions in list order but these may serve as prompts to guide your reflection process.
Submitting a page or two of such reflections on an activity is usually suitable. Of
course, reflections will vary based on the kind of activity you are describing.)
Faculty
mentors enter comments at intervals (at least every six months) on goals and on progress.
REQUIRED ACTIVITIES
Portfolio entries including goals
and reflections each year.
-
Honors
Research Seminar
Capstone Project (relevant in MS3
or MS4 depending on student – Must be done as MS3 or by July before 4th year for
student to receive recognition in Dean's letter for residency application)
Selective
Activities: Student should consider a well-rounded program of activities that include
clinical, educational, or service activities over the course of his or her three years in
the honors program. However, not every area need have a goal or activity each year. (You
should complete a total of about 24 hours of activity annually)
Goals should be formulated
with an eye toward enhancing one's skills, knowledge, and commitments.
Upon completion of an
activity, the student should enter evidence of completion of the activity and reflection
on it.
RESEARCH SEMINAR HANDOUTS
DATES TO REMEMBER:
-
September 23,
2009 - Introduction to
Honors Program for MS-1s (2013):
11:30am-12:30pm, SSOM 150
-
Fall
2009 – Required Honors
Research Seminar
for M-3's and M-2's (Seminar must be taken prior to presentation of
Capstone Project at start of M-4): November 4, 2009;
11:30am-12:30pm.
-
December 3, 2009
-
Introduction to Honors Program for MS-1s (2013):
12:30-1:30pm, SSOM 360
-
January 15,
2010 –
Deadline for M-1s
to submit
registration
form to Katherine Wasson, PhD to enter Honors program.
-
February 15, 2010 – Deadline for M-1s
to have made first entries in online portfolio. These will include a reflection on the
first year of medical school and goals for the second year.
-
Spring 2010 - Required Honors Research Seminar for MS-2 and MS-3:
January 21, 2010; 11:30am-12:30pm, SSOM 150
-
June 1, 2010 -
Deadline for M-2 and M-3's to have entered
two reflections on previous year's activities. Students should have asked advisors
to mark activities as "completed."
-
June 2010
- Presentation of Honor Projects by M-3's
(This is the deadline for those who wish to have their participation in Honors Program
recorded in Dean's letter.)
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