Medical Ethics Career Development Award (MECDA)

The Department of Medicine and the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago are joining forces to provide an outstanding training opportunity designed to prepare young physician scientists for a career in medical ethics. We will support one year of fellowship training to prepare a postdoctoral Fellow for a career combining medical ethics with clinical research in a medical subspecialty. At least eight current Department of Medicine facultyfrom the Sections of Cardiology, GI, Hematology/Oncology, and General Medicine have completed an ethics fellowship at the MacLean Center.

Structure

The MECDA award provides support to a postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Medicine for one research year of fellowship training in medical ethics and for two additional years of medical ethics training, research, and grant writing as a junior faculty member in a DOM Section (Instructor of Medicine). This Program has the following stipulations:

• Applicants must be clinically active physician-scientists who are or will be subspecialty board eligible by the time of anticipated first faculty appointment.
• Applicants are expected to devote 75% effort to research in Medical Ethics with 25% devoted to clinical care and/or administrative effort (typically 1 – 2 half day clinics per week, and/or one month of inpatient attending or the equivalent).
• Post-doctoral fellowship research training consists of at least 2 and preferably 3 years of research and is required for faculty appointment in geriatrics, oncology, general internal medicine, etc although exceptions may be considered for individuals with equivalent accomplishments.
• MECDA recipients are expected to be competitive for major national peer-reviewed career development funding (K award) during the tenure of this fellowship (with preference given to candidates who have previously applied for and/or received fellowship funding (e.g., NIH F-series)).

The total award includes up to $50,000 for the fellowship year support and up to a total of $60,000 per year for 2 years at the Instructor level beginning on the appointment start date. These funds are dedicated entirely to the applicant’s salary and fringe. The Section will provide the remainder of the applicant’s salary and fringe as well as other faculty-related costs (e.g., malpractice insurance, etc).

For more information, please contact:

Mark Siegler, MD
Professor of Medicine
Lindy Bergman Distinguished Service Professor and Director, MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics
msiegler@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu
Phone: (773) 702-1453
Fax: (773) 702-0090

MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics
One-Year Surgical Ethics Fellowship Certificate Program

The MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago announces the opportunity to apply for an American College of Surgeons endorsed Surgical Ethics Fellowship. The program is designed for surgeons who are interested in gaining training and experience in medical ethics. The goal of the one-year surgical ethics training program is to prepare surgeons for academic work related to medical ethics. The program begins with a six-week, full-time intensive introduction in July and August. From September to June, fellows meet one day a week for a structured ethics curriculum including Topics in Clinical Ethics, Conceptual Foundations of Health Law, Analytic Philosophy, and research-in-progress seminars. Fellows also receive training in ethics consultation and are expected to take 2-3 months of consult service. Working with faculty mentors, each fellow will design and carry out at least one research project. Additional activities for each surgical ethics fellow will be individualized. Funding up to $50,000 for participating in the year-long fellowship training program is available to a limited number of applicants. An additional option of a part-time Surgical Ethics Fellowship is also available. Applicants should prepare a personal statement plan that explains 1) how the surgical ethics fellowship will be useful in their career; 2) how much protected time the applicant will have to pursue his or her goals during the fellowship year, and 3) how and whether the funding will ensure the necessary protected time to achieve these goals. Applications must be submitted by March 15, 2009 and are available at: http://medicine.uchicago.edu/centers/ccme/SurgicalSite/Fellowships.html.

For questions email: Peter Angelos, MD, PhD pangelos@surgery.bsd.uchicago.edu or Mark Siegler, MD msiegler@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu.