Calendar for Courses

Course Descriptions

1. Introduction/Proseminar in Biomedical Ethics
   (7 days, on-site in Vilnius)
   This 7-day bioethics seminar is designed to serve as a springboard for the sixteen-month Advanced Certificate in Research Ethics. Students will be intensively immersed in discussions of biomedical, methodology and history. Through a series of workshops and interactive assignments they will be taught to use the research tools in bioethics and the history of medical ethics (especially on-line research portals), and methods of bioethics case analysis and case presentation. They will also be instructed in accessing and using the Blackboard ® distance-learning course platform, and AMC/GCUU Internet based resources, and will be required to use them throughout the seminar.
   
   
2. International Bioethics
   (10 weeks, on-line)
   The purpose of International Bioethics is to provide the historical and theoretical foundations for the Advanced Certificate Program. Topics will include: the history and development of key international institutions, pivotal policies, and theoretical frameworks informing international bioethics and research ethics; case studies of specific areas in international bioethics.
   
   
3. International Research Ethics/Research Ethics I
   (10 weeks, on-line)
   The objectives of International Research Ethics are for students to learn to identify, explain, describe and discuss the prominent ethical, social, and legal issues in biomedical research ethics and be able to apply ethical and professional principles to those issues. Students will learn to analyze individual cases and to make informed and reasoned judgments about the proper conduct of research and be able to design and develop a plan to promote education in, and professional awareness of, research ethics. The introductory research ethics course will achieve these objectives by focusing on a broad perspective of biomedical research ethics and responsible conduct of research.
   
   
4. Advanced International Research Ethics/ Research Ethics II
   (10 weeks, on-line)
   The second course on research ethics is designed to continue the learning process started in the beginning course. The trainees will master the knowledge that will allow them to function as an ethicist on an institutional review board or research ethics committee. They will understand the legal and ethical complexities of contemporary research issues occurring in their home countries in Central and Eastern Europe, and how the local prevailing approaches and standards compare and contrast to international ones. Students will be challenged to develop new theoretical and practical approaches to urgent ethical issues in their own local research science environment.
   
   
5. Practicum Project
   (20 weeks, on-line)
   The On-line Practicum Project will be a key vehicle for preparing trainees to facilitate institutional and societal change with regard to ethical practices in international health research. In this 20-week course, students will carry out projects in their home institutions including: developing and teaching short courses on research ethics, conducting empirical studies of research ethics practices, writing and implementing policies for research ethics committees, improving the management of research ethics committees and influencing the public policy agenda of governmental bodies and non-governmental organizations.
   
   
6. On-site Research Ethics Practicum
   (5 days, on-site in Vilnius)
   The purpose of this 5-day, on-site course is to enable students to acquire the practical skills necessary for functioning as independent research ethicists in their home countries and in promoting institutional change. Students will learn how to evaluate research protocols as submitted to local research ethics committees and study the operation and management of various national bioethics committees. They will also learn how to use quantitative and qualitative research methods to evaluate and monitor bioethical practices (e.g., informed consent). Additional skills that will be covered include methods for teaching bioethics, grant-writing, public policy and organizational analysis, and other skills that will be useful in completing the Practicum Project.
   
   
7. Advanced Research Ethics Capstone Seminar
   (5 days, on-site in Vilnius)
   The Capstone, the final course of the certificate, will provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate they have mastered the essential knowledge base and practical skills necessary to function as a competent research ethicist in the Central and Eastern European environment. The Capstone performs both an assessment and evaluative function to assure the key objectives of the certificate curriculum have been accomplished. The assessment will involve: (1) student presentations of their research; (2) student teaching sessions to demonstrate their skill at presenting some aspect of research ethics (e.g., consent requirements in research on vulnerable populations) (3) student performance in analyzing cases before a mock research ethics review board.