Responsible Conduct of Research Training 2012-2013
At a time when ethical issues are gaining more and more attention in academia and in society at large, it is vital that PhD students are formally exposed to information about accepted practices, and invited to participate in on-going debate. Training in research bioethics is a requirement of the MD/PhD program, the School of Medicine, graduate groups and NIH.
The training program in Ethical Conduct of Biomedical Research has three major educational components: web-based training in bioethics, the program literature, and small group discussion workshops. Participation in all phases of the training program is mandatory for all graduate and combined degree students and for all postdoctoral and research fellows.
The requirement for MD/PhD students is as follows:
FIRST YEAR STUDENTS
First year students must complete their training by completing the on-line training which can be accessed here:
http://knowledgelink.upenn.edu
You will need to log on with your Pennkey and password. Click on Catalog under Training on the left side of the page. In the Search For field, then type “bioethics”, and the course will pop up. Click to enroll. You will have to view all of the multimedia presentations AND answer all of the questions (case studies and quiz) to receive credit for the training. You must complete your training requirement by May 30.
SECOND YEAR STUDENTS
Participation in the second year curriculum of medical school fulfills your ethics training requirement.
THIRD, FOURTH AND FIFTH YEAR STUDENTS
Students in the 3rd, 4th and 5th year are required to attend a small group workshop to discuss relevant case studies. You will be contacted directly with workshop schedule information. It is expected that most of the 2012-2013 workshops will be scheduled for May and June.
STUDENTS BEYOND THE FIFTH YEAR AND NOT GRADUATING
Students beyond the fifth year who are not graduating, must participate in a yearly training session of their choice. The Student Choice RCR requirement for these students can be met by participation in various University sanctioned bioethics courses and symposia. To learn about events, you can visit the Center for Bioethics' home page at http://www.bioethics.upenn.edu/. After attending a University sponsored event of your choice, you must register your participation with the BGS office. To do so, please contact Colleen Dunn at (dunncoll@mail.med) and let her know what you did to satisfy the requirement. Another option for upper level students is serving as an assistant facilitator in a workshop for more junior students. Students interested should contact Colleen Dunn at BGS (dunncoll@mail.med). The deadline for completion is May 30.
STUDENTS IN THE FINAL YEAR (Medical Phase)
All MD/PhD students must complete the one week Medical Bioethics Course required of graduating students.
SUMMARY
The training sequence for a typical 8-year MD-PhD curriculum is as follows:
- Year 1: Online training
- Year 2: MD curriculum
- Year 3-5: Bioethics Workshops
- Year 6-7: Student Choice
- Year 8: Medical Bioethics Course