2003-2004 Research Report and New Advanced Master’s Degree Course in Medical Ethics

Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, 28th February 2005: Today, the Europäische Akademie presented its latest Research Report for the years 2003–2004 and a new co-operation project. The report documents the interdisciplinary and international orientation of the academy´s research activities for the years 2003–2004. Primarily through its spring and autumn conferences, its many expert meetings, and its four publication organs (book series “Wissenschaftsethik und Technikfolgenabschätzung” consisting of 25 volumes, the “Graue Reihe”, the science journal “Poiesis & Praxis”, which has completed its second year, and the Newsletter) the academy´s work becomes transparent for the relevant scientific communities as well as the public. The fourth generation projects are a main focus of the present report, and will be completed in 2005 and 2006. Based on the experience of the previous 18 interdisciplinary projects (including the current ones) the interdisciplinary project groups have proved valuable.
At the end of 2005, however, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research’s ten year grant runs out. A continuation of the Federal grant is currently under discussion between the participators and the Ministry. The present report shows that the academy has thus far fulfilled its task of conducting interdisciplinary research on current social issues. The dialogue between science and society is becoming ever more urgent and nearly no one will doubt that this is a crucial challenge to science and other areas. Through the Europäische Akademie’s work, various branches of science achieve their task of providing social recommendations.
The academy, in co-operation with the FernUniversität Hagen as well as the Universität Mainz, will offer a new Advanced Master’s Degree Course in Medical Ethics starting in the spring semester of 2005. The course consists of four semesters and is geared toward medical graduates and other graduates who work in health care.
The course consists of an introduction to medical ethics, philosophical and medical anthropology, and various medical issues, such as the patient’s self-determination within the doctor-patient-relationship, the representation of the patient’s interests in health care, but also the economic use of scientific and medical findings and exemplary studies from medical ethics and law.
The partners work together to provide practice-oriented course materials from interdisciplinary research projects and prepare it for distance learning. The practical application in concrete medical situations is conducted during a phase of attendance at the Universitätsklinik Mainz. The partners see this advanced course for health professionals as an opportunity to acquire the increasingly important secondary skill of ethical reflection.