Bioethics

I love bioethics, and it was the focus of my first degree before my ABSN. I always hoped I'd have the opportunity to sit on a hospital ethics committee. Unfortunately, being paid hourly as a Staff RN (rather than being salaried) has been an unexpected barrier. Ethics committee members often have to be on-call to advise in difficult cases, and if you're on-call then legally you have to be paid for that time. Several other members of the ethics committee (mainly chaplains) are salaried, so they can be expected to take call as a part of their standard work agreement salary. By contrast, hourly RNs who take call are a) paid for their on-call time, and b) paid extra when they're actually called in. If you were a salaried nurse working as a nurse educator, nurse manager, or nurse clinical development specialist, you'd be welcome to sit on the ethics committee. By contrast, hourly employees (like Staff RNs) were not eligible because the hospital refused to cover the cost. I've been able to sit in on some monthly meetings, but have not been able to act as a full member. This may not be true at every hospital, but it has been the case in the couple of hospitals where I've worked.

If you're able to do a minor or take some additional bioethics classes for your own personal growth, go for it. However, I'd advise against going into debt to get a MA in Bioethics. I've considered that same option, but in the end I just can't justify the cost.

Thank you so much for the input! Are most hospitals staff RNs rather than salary? Also, the school that I am at offers to pay for the Master's program so I wouldn't necessarily be in debt for that, but it is an extra year or so of work. Would you suggest asking someone on the ethics committee at the hospital i do clinicals at to see what it is like for them? I am just really interested because i don't think there are many nurses out there with a bioethics background and with all of the upcoming technology and contrast between what is ethical or not sparked my interest. I think as nurses we look at scenarios differently than doctors because we are with the patients more and can maybe understand the families side of situations and be able to provide more of their input.