© 2018 The National Catholic Bioethics Center 29
Abstract. The authors work in a variety of clinical ethics consultation services
(CECSs) that employ a range of methods and approaches. This article discusses
the approach to ethics consultation at the Center for Medical Ethics and Health
Policy at Baylor College of Medicine and describes the development and
transformation of the authors’ CECSs. It discusses how one CECS shifted from
a nascent program with only ffty consultations a year to a vibrant, heavily
staffed service with fve hundred ethics consultations a year. National Catholic
Bioethics Quarterly 18.1 (Spring 2018): 29–38.
Clinical ethics consultation services (CECSs) have expanded considerably over the
past three decades to address ethical uncertainties and problems.
1
There is general
agreement that clinical ethics consultation adds value to hospital operations.
2
At
Courtenay R. Bruce, JD, MA, works in business practices and hospital operations in
the Houston Methodist health system, in Houston, Texas. Jocelyn Lapointe, MPA, is a project
leader in clinical ethics and graduate medical education at Baylor College of Medicine in
Houston. Peter Koch, PhD, is an assistant professor of philosophy at Villanova University, in
Villanova, Pennsylvania. Katarina Lee, JD, MA, is a clinical ethics fellow at Baylor College
of Medicine. Savitri Fedson, MD, is an associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine.
The views expressed in the NCBQ do not necessarily represent those of the editor, the
editorial board, the ethicists, or the staff of The National Catholic Bioethics Center.
1. Glenn McGee et al., “A National Study of Ethics Committees,” American Journal
of Bioethics 1.4 (2001): 60–64, doi: 10.1162/152651601317139531.
2. Ellen Fox, Sarah Myers, and Robert A. Pearlman, “Ethics Consultation in United
States Hospitals: A National Survey,” American Journal of Bioethics 7.2 (2007): 13–25,
Building a Vibrant Clinical Ethics
Consultation Service
Courtenay R. Bruce, Jocelyn Lapointe,
Peter Koch, Katarina Lee,
and Savitri Fedson, MD